JASON CRUMER 'Let There Be Crumer' CD

[Pete Johnstone]

JASON CRUMER 'Let There Be Crumer' CD out now on Second Layer Records.



New full-length in 6 panel ogun-style digipack with gloss finish.


"The human psyche and the world of nature are equally temperamental and unpredictable: there's little upon which we can depend that falls within our sphere of influence. What is required of us? That we cope, that we make the best of whatever circumstances are at hand, and persevere. Embrace the materials at hand; transform weaknesses into strengths. Whether others approve - or even understand - is largely immaterial.
So maybe Jason Crumer carpet-bombed your Audi dealership accidentally during a cross-country trip, or maybe, you know, it was intentional; there’s no definite way to know for sure, and it’s not like there’s any evidence. Besides, it’s not like you need to grasp why. One moment, life was static, then the next: Let There Be Crumer, the latest in a proud tradition of methodologically-innovative dissembling.
Alternately throttling, sublime, and inventive – often all at once - Crumer’s predecessors have placed their namesake among the vanguard of American noise music. Let There Be Crumer itself strikes me as something of a psych-ward study in delayed gratification, a sort of “hang time” album. Not in a “fly jams to crank while watching Happy Endings with gal-pals” way, but in more of a Michael Jordan sense, where there seems to be an eternity between that initial moment of lift-off and the subsequent arena-rattling dunk.
And it’s in those yawning interims that this album excels and engulfs, gently lulling us into charmed complacently before sending us tumbling down cliff faces bound and gagged inside flaming cars – then suddenly unscathed again atop a bluff, gobbling Cheetos, eyes red and wild and wide." – Raymond Cummings.


"If one has to pick up just a few examples of noise artists who stand above the usual scene activity of flooding regular noise releases, perhaps Crumer comes as one example? His every album has been significantly different, making a point of actually owning every piece of work. Let There Be Crumer is refining his methods and showing skills of combining harsh noise to deep drones and experimental sound manipulations. While saying “harsh noise” and “drone” may raise questions like: so what? I may add that, instead of being the end of it, they are merely elements in Crumer’s work where the key word should be: composition.
This is an album in the pure musical sense. It’s not a collection of tracks, it’s not a rugged selection of sounds pressed on a disc. Every move seems to be planned and then executed with precision. Tension is built by moments like repetition of loops and cold ethereal droning until reaches a climax of of vivid and amazingly hectic noise.
This belongs to my most listened-to noise albums of recent years and I am very pleased that there is an album which is not all about flow of abstract random noise, but clear, perfectly timed forms building an album. You can still hear it doesn’t resemble “contemporary art music” and it has a firm stand in the traditions of noise. Perhaps the closest comparison would be Sickness, especially his later works where he has done something quite similar. While Crumer clearly has borrowed a trick or two from Sickness, his own identity cannot be disputed." – Mikko Aspa, Special Interests #8.


Paypal: info AT secondlayer DOT co DOT uk
UK £11.30 PPD; EU/ROW £12.60 PPD. Please mark 'Let There Be Crumer' in the subject line.

US customers can buy direct from Jason.


Also available from these distros:-

Release The Bats! (SWE)
RRR (US)
Art Into Life (JAP)
Freak Animal (FIN)
Phage Tapes (US)
Metamkine (FRA)
Unrest Productions (UK)



Available now:-
Voltigeurs 'Carrion' LP (ltd.350)
Cheapmachines 'Kept: 1994-96' cassette
Werewolf Jerusalem 'Confessions Of A Sex Maniac' 4CD box-set
Sissy Spacek 'Sepsis' CD
Lasse Marhaug 'The Quiet North' CD
Ramleh ‘Valediction’ CD
Evan Parker / John Wiese 'C-Section' CD
Skullflower 'Malediction' CD
Pain Jerk / Rock'n'Roll Jackie 'Super Relaxed' CD

Out of print:-
Snotnosed 'Cock Vomit' cassette
Hype Williams 'Do Roids And Kill E'rything' 7"
The Rita 'Predators' 7"
Hype Williams 'Rise Up' 12"

[scumwalski]

Just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoy this album. It may not be as intense as "Walk With Me" (personal favorite), but it's definitely worth owning. I like how Crumer manages to trigger emotional responses using very simple techniques. He definitely has developed amazing composing skills over the years and has a great taste for selecting sounds that just go really well together - this relates to field recordings in particular. The only thing which bothers me is the silly weed whacker sound in one of the tracks, it's a bit too obvious but I guess that's just a matter of taste.

This is a complete work and it's generally much better and much more mature than about 95% of the albums which come out in the noise underground.