Tag: CR&M

CR&M’s Ambient Downtempo “Coping strategies” is the Soundtrack to a Brisk Walk to Clear and Stimulate the Mind

The hovering, harmonic drone that begins CR&A’s “Coping strategies” is soon joined by what sounds like a swift wind and background melodic abstraction that is soon punctuated by percussion that is impressionistic in it’s deployment of hi-hat, bass drum and other percussive sounds. The cover art for the single is a view of someone looking up between tall buildings into a blue sky with white clouds coming into view. The song’s enigmatic mood reflects that halcyon view and it feels like a moment of contemplation followed by a brisk walk as you follow your strings of thought stimulated by the changing landscape. But the vibe isn’t Thoreau at Walden Pond but rather the existential resonance of an urban setting that can likewise spark ideas beyond your immediate concerns. Listen to “Coping strategies” on Spotify and follow CR&M on Instagram. The group released its album Stems on August 28, 2024.

CR&M on Instagram

CR&M Melds Hypnotic IDM Loops and Prog Psychedelia on the Dreamlike “Mondegreen”

The guitar figure that runs throughout CR&M’s “Mondegreen” might for some be reminiscent of Acid Mothers Temple’s 1997 psychedelic rock classic “Pink Lady Lemonade.” But around it is a rapidly repeating textural tone like a fluttering, cybernetic dragonfly. When the vocals come in like a disembodied presence in a dream it’s calming if barely discernible. At two and a half minutes in the tones cascade down over the forward progression of the original riff and the two vocalists ripple off one another in a dreamy shimmer that accentuates the mood of the song of transcending mundane existence and indulge a full blossoming of the imagination as a key to emotional and psychological liberation. Through composing the song so it taps into the aesthetics of genuinely psychedelic rock and the hypnotic loops of IDM it truly sounds like something different as it dares to incorporate sound elements that are outside the bounds of standard, pristine music production. Listen to “Mondegreen” on Spotify.