Baltimore quintet Crying Laughing detail debut album, Talking

The band — formed in 2024 by saxophonist Christian Best and drummer Jen Kirby, whose collaboration in Smoke Bellow formed the basis of the project, as well as keyboardist Steve Strohmeier, bassist Marc Miller, and saxophonist Rose Hammer Burt — all hail from Baltimore's experimental underground scene, coming together to fuse saxophone-led composition with post-punk-inspired grooves.

"Toppled Column" arrives as the first preview of the collection of songs. "Each song begins its life as a seed of an idea: a whole arrangement, specific rhythms, melodies, or sometimes just a theory of interaction," says Best of their songwriting process. "The band then collaboratively expands and later condenses those ideas down into their most concise form."

The album was recorded in one day in a basement studio outside Baltimore, with each take tracked live by engineer Chris Freeland. The two saxophones work together like two vocalists alongside the drums, bass, and sampled keyboards, as Best notes: "Compositionally we aim to not encroach on each instrument’s space. All of us contribute to the overall rhythm and melody of each piece, trading roles and interweaving with each other.”

Talking artwork

Talking tracklist

"Toppled Column"
"Bass Alarm"
"Tato"
"When They Come to Town You Must Exile"
"Ricemeat"
"Inner Life"
"Crocodopolis Theme"
"Geese Six"