The Corner Laughers Share ‘Crumb Clean’ From ‘Concerns of Wasp and Willow’
We’re pleased to premiere ‘Crumb Clean’, a new track from The Corner Laughers’ forthcoming album ‘Concerns of Wasp and Willow’.
The Bay Area indie-pop group return with their first album in over five years and their sixth release overall. Karla Kane, Khoi Huynh, KC Bowman and Charlie Crabtree have always had a fine ear for songs that sound bright on the surface while something stranger sits underneath, and ‘Crumb Clean’ is a lovely example of that balance.
The song began at home, with a piano riff played by Kane’s daughter, Octavia, who also appears on the album. From there, it grew into one of the record’s more hopeful environmental pieces, a song about paying attention, taking care and believing that small acts might still matter.
Karla Kane explains:
“One sunny morning, our daughter was playing a catchy little riff on the piano, which was the genesis of this song (she plays it on the album as well). I recently wrote ‘Terra Mia,’ which has quite dark lyrics, so in some ways ‘Crumb Clean’ is its more optimistic environmental counterpart, feeling hopeful about the next generation and about people working together to make the world better. The phrase ‘Crumb clean’ is a slogan from a state park’s environmental campaign; in particular, it’s meant to help protect the endangered marbled murrelet, which nests in redwood trees. The song can be seen as a bit of a call to action to appreciate and celebrate the good things and work to protect and encourage them.”
That same easy air blows right through ‘Concerns of Wasp and Willow’. After 2015’s ‘Matilda Effect’ and 2020’s ‘Temescal Telegraph’, the band are still bringing a good deal of wit & warmth to their work, and never doing things in a slapdash way. The songs wander through worries, recollections, concerns for the natural world, and the small, curious contradictions of daily life, all borne along by the band’s well-known knack for a pleasing tune.
‘Crumb Clean’ features Karla Kane on vocals and ukulele, Khoi Huynh on piano and vocals, KC Bowman on bass, guitar and vocals, Charlie Crabtree on drums, and Octavia Kane on the piano riff.
‘Concerns of Wasp and Willow’ feels like a proper return, a thoughtful and tuneful record with a slightly odd edge that reveals more of itself the more you listen.
Headline photo: Sia Banihashemi
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