Plaza Mayor Company Ltd releases the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to The Crumbs. Directed by David J. Espinosa (who also writes, produces and acts in various projects), the film follows Doctor Benjamin and his family who run a Bed & Breakfast in the woods. The Crumbs may be a loving family, twisted, quirky and off-beat, but they also perform experiments on unsuspecting guests. The music score is written and produced by Lance Warlock, whose other work includes 24 Little Hours (2020) and The Mass Shooting Monologues (2021). For this one it was decided to utilise percussion and wavering textures to create a bizarre and outré atmosphere...

It is seldom there is little to say regarding a soundtrack – or any media release, come to that – however, the obvious problem with The Crumbs is that for a score with so many tracks it suffers from diminishing returns. I was impressed with the opening. 'Crumb Cottage' sounds like a child playing with sticks on pots and pans, but still manages to convey a weird and unbalanced environment. Objects utilised as percussion also works for 'Sleazy Dr B', 'Valente Won’t Go Away', and 'Valente Digs Deep', the latter of which employs other unnerving tactics, too. The majority of the other segments use other household objects, such as bottles with added rumbling and scraping, and the dropping of ball bearings so that they bounce, along with some fluttering and juddering.

There are exceptions, of course. 'Leonard Takes Care of Business' includes creepy breathing sounds; 'My Big Beautiful Leonard' is more plaintive and dreamy; 'He’s a Perfect Fit' is slow and low and carries a feeling of foreboding portent; and 'Missing Persons Poster' incorporates a gurgling, rumbling stomach sound which is fitting. It rises with menace, but it’s too little, too late. With 33 tracks on offer, the only one with any type of proper melodic music is 'Finding Panties'. Nevertheless, the tune is stilted, intermittent and short. Had the tracks I’ve mentioned here been released alone, I would probably have rated the release slightly higher, but too many similar pieces tarnish the whole.

5

Ty Power