Ate And Left

Welcome back to Finetuned! Sit back, read these stupid words I write, enjoy the vibes. This week is all about Crumb! I don’t want to jinx it, but I think you’ll love this.

Who Are Crumb?

Crumb makes music that feels like waking up in a foggy neon dream—just hazy enough to lose your bearings, but so smooth you don’t really mind. Formed in 2016 by a group of Tufts University friends, the Boston-born band blends jazz-tinted grooves, lo-fi textures, and psychedelia into something that's equal parts heady and hypnotic.

Discography That Feels Like a Slow-Motion Spin. Crumb’s catalog isn’t massive, but every release feels like a carefully mixed cocktail—equal parts mood, mystery, and musical muscle.

🌀 EPs

• Crumb (2016) – The band's first ripple on the radar. Lo-fi and intimate, like late-night demos caught in a lava lamp.

• Locket (2017) – A breakout moment. Tracks like “Locket” and “Plants” introduced a sound that felt vintage and futuristic at once.

💿 Albums

• Jinx (2019), our rec today – Their full-length debut. Warm, off-kilter grooves anchored by standout cuts like “Nina” and “Ghostride.” A soft landing into a strange new world for these peeps.

• Ice Melt (2021) – Things get murkier, more fluid. Saxophones. Musical textures are much more diverse. A record that moves like water!

• Amama (2024) – Their latest, and maybe boldest. Crumb stretches further out—sonically, emotionally. It doesn’t rush to arrive; it floats.

Live, it’s been said that they’re magnetic. No big light shows, no pyrotechnics—just tight, intuitive playing. The kind of band that sounds like they’re playing in a dream you once had, and just remembered!

What To Expect Sonically

When it comes to Crumb, I would urge you to think of warped synths, woozy guitars, drums that tiptoe around the beat, and Lila Ramani’s vocals drifting in like smoke. If you're into the soft-focus vibes of Men I Trust, the playful surrealism of Mild High Club, or the early psych explorations of Tame Impala, Crumb might already live rent-free in your head like they do mine.

Their sound doesn’t shout—it slinks, spirals, and settles in slowly. And once it’s there, good luck shaking it. (You won’t be able to, just get stuck in).

Don’t Jinx The Vibes

Jinx is where Crumb really crystallized their identity. The album plays like a lucid dream just on the edge of unraveling—vivid, disjointed, a little eerie, but always compelling. Let’s dive just a bit deeper, it’s time for a vibe check!

Vibe Checkin: Jinx (2019)

This record truly feels like being stuck in a loop at a dimly lit party where time moves slower than it should. It’s hazy but intentional, soft but unnerving. There's a low-grade anxiety humming under the surface of its chill exterior—a subtle tension that gives the record a strange magnetic pull.

The sound palette is light-footed but layered: Slinky basslines, loose, jazzy drumming, misty synths, and Lila Ramani’s delicate, almost detached vocals. Allow me to set the scene: Lounging on a velvet couch while your thoughts spiral in slow motion. There’s an unsettling prettiness to it all, like something beautiful that's slightly... off. Let’s continue - onto the lyrics!

Lyrical Themes

Lyrically, Jinx plays with fragmentation, disconnection, and the weirdness of everyday life, which matches the sonic soundscape they produce instrumentally. It’s observational and internal, full of lines that feel both mundane and metaphorical. Ramani’s songwriting touches on:

• Dissociation & mental loops ("Am I doing this right?" moments wrapped in surreal snapshots)

• Shifting identities (the feeling of being a stranger in your own life)

• Dream logic (lyrics don’t always resolve—they drift, echo, and morph)

• Urban malaise (think empty sidewalks, awkward parties, strange phone calls)

Even the title, Jinx, hints at bad luck, repetition, superstition—like being caught in a pattern you can’t quite name, but definitely feel.

Thanks for reading here, Finetuners! I do hope you all have enjoyed this week’s Finetuned. I’d appreciate any insights, admiration, or otherwise. You can reply to the newsletter directly or DM me on Twitter. (or email me here: [email protected])

Please do share Finetuned with your friends & fam & whoever else! I believe great music should be shared, cherished, and understood from all sorts of perspectives.

See you all in the next one! 🙌