Joseph Hammer & Jason Crumer — Show Em the Door

Collaborations between artists from different ends of the same genre often lead to disaster. Joseph Hammer (LAFMS) and Jason Crumer managed to overcome the odds and make a quality recording. Hammer is known for his mix of musique concrete and tape loops while Jason Crumer rocks more of a harsh concrete approach. While genre fans are more than likely familiar with both artists, one would assume they are confused by the collaboration. Fear not, friends. Hammer and Crumer must have worked with each other at length over how to approach this album, and it shows.

Show Em the Door is structured like 90% of experimental albums out there, four tracks from 12-14 minutes in length. "Banner Drop" starts the album off in a manner expected from Hammer. What sounds like old, looped horn recordings play while a creepy, almost vocal rubbing sound comes to the front. If this weren't enough, another layer comes into the mix: scratchy static and junk noise. Layers build up and there's an eventual decay. This quieter period flows into a cello/bass buzz for a spell, calms back down, and eventually fades out with the original horn/record sample. It's a very involved and interesting song that never feels 13 minutes long. "Guitar" stars up with that cello/bass buzz before breaking into straight up concrete and a rhythm that sounds like someone starting a gas stove. "Guitar" continues with quick junky bits and tape warp. There are some really interesting loops being used on this track. The warble and decay add nice modulation to the string buzz. "Show Em the Door" starts off low and slow and has a deep sea feel to it. After a few minutes, a noisy, crunchy loop drops comes to the surface. It sounds like a Jaws video game collapsing on itself. Crumer is flexing some muscle here, but definitely showing some restraint. The last few minutes of loops are noisier than most used on the album so far, but are a walk in the park compared to what preceded it. This is the highlight track for me. I'm not a big concrete fan, so the noise mix is perfect for me. The album wraps up with "TB Blues." This is a strange one for this album. It features accordions, I think. Definitely a different tone than the first three. Anyway, the loops build, there is some noise and throat sounds added, and it gets pretty hypnotic. It's a solid track, for sure, but seems out of place with the others.

Hammer and Crumer put together a nice mix of concrete and noise. Their differing approaches to concrete work very well together. Although I would have preferred more noise in the mix, I still really enjoyed this record. There are lots of textures and loops on display and they work really well on headphones. Thanks, guys!