CRUMBACHER - INCADESCENT-1985 / DISCOGRAPHY / BIOGRAPHY / REVIEW

THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(8-TRACKS)
1-UNDERSTUDY
2-INFRARED/X-RAY EYES
3-CLOWING IN THE DARK
4-SO STRANGE
5-IT DOESN'T MATTER
6-JAMIE
7-SWEET BY AND BY
8-TRACK YOU DOWN
Stephen Crumbacher first made his name with his self-titled new wave leaning band on the album INCANDESCENT (you can find it used on vinyl and cassette but it was never re-issued on CD to my knowledge) gradually growing more poppy as time went on. Crumbacher always did have a way with a hook that often overcame your objections to sometimes overly simplistic or fluffy lyrics and that saves the day quite often on this one, a collaboration with ex-bandmate Christopher Duke (who I *believe* is Crumbacher's brother-in-law). Duke handles all the guitars and adds backing vocals to "Heavy Rhythm", "Desert Lightning" and "Over and Over,On and On", Crumbacher takes care of keys, piano and vocals and studio hot-shot David Huff (of the band Giant) lays down the drumwork, with the duo self-producing. Stylistically, it reminds me a bit of 80s period Cars or occasionally ELO..poppy, plenty of synth, and guitars mainly as an accent rather than the central ingredient.
CRUMBACHER-ESCAPE FROM THE FALLEN PLANET-1986
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-SOLO FLIGHT
2-CRASHLANDED
3-IDENTICAL TWINS
4-NAME DROPPERS
5-ROYAL,COMMAND,PERFOMANCE
6-TOURIST TRAP
7-LIFE OF THE PARTY
8-ALMA MATTER
9-GRADUATING CLASS
10-INTERSTELLAR SATELLITE
CRUMBACHER-THUNDER BEACH-1987
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-BACKYARD CHANGES
2-ONCE IN A HEARTBREAK
3-HERE AM I
4-GREAT LITTLE DANCER
5-WAY WITH WORDS
6-THUNDER BEACH
7-TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW
8-MIDDLE OF A MIRACLE
9-TERRA FIRMA
10-ONLY TIME
CRUMBACHER-TAME THE VOLCANO-1988
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(11-TRACKS)
1-ONCE MORE(WITH FELLING
2-SPEECHLESS
3-WAITING FOR YOU
4-RELEASE ME
5-RECKLESS BOY,AND BAD,BAD GIRL
6-TAME THE VOLCANO
7-LAVA ROCK
8-RAINY SEASON
9-SOMEBODY'S ARMS
10-EVERY NOW AND THEN
11-ONCE MORE (FOR THE BAN)
CRUMBACHER DUKE-WORLDS AWAY-1990
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(13-TRACKS)
1-WORLDS AWAY
2-HEAVY RHYTHM
3-SUMMER CHILDREN
4-THE LAST TIME
5-DESERT LIGHTNING
6-LATTER RAINS
7-LATTER RAINS(REPRISE)
7-HOOKS
9-NO KIND OF MAGIC
10-PERFECT CRIME
11-TEARS OF JOY
12-ROCK IN THE HEART PLACE
13-OVER AND OVER,ON & ON
"Worlds Away" is somewhat reminiscent of late-period ELO thanks to its use of synth strings as Crumbacher envisions heaven to come ("I've journeyed from my mortal borders/I've heard angelic music play") "Heavy Rhythm" is a prime example of Crumbacher's lyric often landing in the territory of silly ("Gangs all going for a little drive/Will they make it back alive?") as he crafts a tune about peer pressure (the "heavy rhythm" the kids march to) and later becoming the metaphor for Christian rock as the means to reach out. ("And the time has finally come/For us good old-fashioned kids next door/bangin' on a different drum") "Hooks" is likewise an argument in favor of Christian rock as they sing ("I've heard it time and time again/Regardless of the looks/The fishing's only as good/as the bait that's on the hooks") True to its name, the chorus sinks into your skull like a well-tied fly. "Tears of Joy" veers on melodrama with its liberal synth strings but the message is emotional and the lyric actually pretty good. ("If I cried the day you said you were leaving/I'm sure to lose it even more/Upon the news of your returning/That must be what tears of joy are for") "Perfect Crime" is a zippy indictment of media bias. ("Though cameras never lie/The edits often do")
STEPHER CRUMBACHER-TAKE IT IN-1991
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-ALMOST HOME
2-TAKE IT IN
3-CIRCLE OF MY HEART
4-OVER ME
5-AUTUMN LIFE
6-IT TAKES LOVE
7-THE BRAEKS
8-DREAM AGAIN
9-ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD
10-JESUS,YOU
CRUMBACHER-REINVENTION-1999
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(11-TRACKS)
1-REINVENTION
2-FIND ME
3-BY OUR LOVE
4-DABGER INVOLVED
5-BIG BOY AGAIN
6-TELEPHONE KISSES
7-DIAMONDS
8-THE DIG
9-ABOVE THE MEANS
10-B-ATTITUDES
11-LOVE WOULD NEVER WALK AWAY











Southern Californian Stephen Crumbacher formed the Christian group that bore his name in 1983 with his high school friend Dawn Wisner (soon to be Winser-Johnson) and her brother. The purpose was to evangelize teenagers, and the band attempted to do this with a keyboard-driven-new-wave sound. The group never quite seemed to click, despite memorable moments. Incandescent contains the first song Crumbacher ever wrote ("Jamie") and evinces the charm of a promising act by you amateurs. CCM announced the album as revealing "a new group on par with Vector." The song"It doensn't matter" is a new-wave treat , carried by pneumatic syntheisizers.

Crumbacher Is one of my favorite Christian bands from the 1980s. They were basically bubble gum pop with Christian lyrics - the messages weren't too deep, but they were kind of fun, and the music filled a niche for teenyboppers looking for catchy Christian pop music that wouldn't make them think too hard, but still had a positive message.

Back in the early 80's, hard rocking Christian music was kind of scarce. I was grabbing anything I could find that had an edge, and in doing so, purchased the first release by Crumbacher (Incandescent). It was very heavy keyboard new wave (which I had not been a fan of in the late 70's early 80's as a metal head), but that album had something that kept my attention. When this second album came out (Escape from the Planet), it was even better. Better production, overall better sounding, with more hooks; it was a most excellent continuation of the beauty of the first album. As more and more rock started coming out, these fine albums disappeared from my player. Now, some 20 years later, I discovered a CD here that contained both albums on one disc, and was thrilled. I scooped it up, and upon receipt, excitedly slamed it in the player, and it was just as enjoyable now as it had been then, bringing back a flood of memories and pleasure. Good stuff if you like keybord driven new wave style pop(http://www.holymetalrob.com/)