I’ve waxed captivated by Jimmy Crouse once before. The Delaware songwriter/poet, obscure to near Platonic ideal, was brought to light earlier this year by the Remote Choir project. Remote Choir was material by Jimmy and some file-sharing collaborators. And now, a release from Jimmy himself, the straight dope as it were. Artist Rich Pell, who directed the Remote Choir effort, continues to serve as the channel through which Crouse’s contemplative, time-stretched incantations (a.k.a. songs) are shared with the world.
Not To Take Upon Oneself To Say (1991-2017) is a fold in time, with material written in the early 90s and hibernating until performed/recorded in 2017. And within that dormancy what became of the songs? Perhaps they decayed a bit, now unearthed like damaged scrolls, meaning more coded by being fragmentary? The songs’ 26 year gestation is a clue that Crouse’s concept of time plays by its own idiosyncratic rules. When performed, this goes double. The pacing is nearly dissociative, chords changing with Osho-like regard, the already-cryptic lyrics drawn to extract a latent OM alive in each syllable. Prima materia from The First State.
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