Crimulus
Progressive Folk Rock Storyteller
Appalachian Roots. Distorted Edges.
Crimulus is a Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter and recording artist
whose music lives between Appalachian folk, country, progressive rock,
and the cathartic edge of ’90s and 2000s rock. Banjo and acoustic guitar
sit comfortably beside distorted guitars, layered harmonies, and expansive
arrangements, creating a sound that can be intimate, heavy, playful, or
unexpectedly strange.
At the center of it all is a storyteller's instinct. Crimulus writes about
aging, loneliness, love, regret, ambition, identity, mortality, and the
persistent question of what any of this is supposed to mean. Sometimes the
answers come through intimate confession. Sometimes they come through a
medieval king, a dying snake, a baby duck, or a person trying to make sense
of their own dreams. The subject matter can get heavy, but the songs rarely
forget to be funny, curious, or fun.
The result is music that feels personal without being confined to confession:
songs about complicated people trying to understand themselves, each other,
and the strange world they've ended up in. Whether recorded as intimate folk
or pushed into distorted, progressive territory, Crimulus' work is driven by
curiosity, emotional honesty, and an unwillingness to stay inside the lines.
The Sound
Folk songwriting meets rock catharsis.
- Appalachian folk and bluegrass
- Country songwriting
- ’90s pop and rock melodies
- 2000s hard rock
- Progressive rock and metal
- Acoustic singer/songwriter
Banjo and acoustic guitar provide the foundation, while distorted electric
guitars, layered harmonies, dynamic arrangements, and home-studio experimentation
push the songs in unexpected directions. Melodies tend to stay immediate and
memorable even when the arrangements get ambitious.
The result can be intimate and stripped-down, then suddenly loud, expansive,
or strange - often within the same song. Across it all, the emphasis stays on
strong songwriting, distinctive melodies, emotional contrast, and arrangements
that serve the story rather than a particular genre.
Discography
trois, ben oui
2026 • 13 tracks • 45m • Country / Rock
trois, ben oui is a collection of songs about searching for meaning in the strange, beautiful,
and sometimes absurd experience of being alive. Across thirteen tracks, Crimulus moves through dreams,
love, grief, mortality, loneliness, memory, alternate possibilities, and the quiet question of what
any of it means.
The album shifts freely between intimate confession and surreal storytelling, finding humor alongside
heavier questions. Characters drift through imagined worlds. Memories erode, people disappear, and
ordinary moments become unexpectedly profound - all while the songs keep returning to the same
fundamental impulse: trying to understand where we are, how we got here, and what keeps us moving forward.
Highlighted Tracks
-
Not A Whole Lot Great
Feeling stuck, struggling to heal, and leveraging loved ones to confront what hurts.
-
Dada Lullaby
A sleep-bound mind searches for meaning as genuine insight gradually gives way to absurdity.
-
It Ought To
An ode to the things that failed to break us.
47: Past My Prime And Still Getting Better
2026 • 26 tracks • Dual Disc • Country / Rock
47: Past My Prime And Still Getting Better is a sprawling look at a life still in progress -
twenty-six songs about aging, identity, love, regret, ambition, persistence, and the realization
that there's no final version of yourself waiting around the corner. Looking backward is
unavoidable, but the album isn't particularly interested in staying there.
Across two companion discs, Crimulus moves from the stage to the road, from young love to lifelong
love, from heartbreak to fragile baby ducks, and from existential questions to the simple act of
trying to keep going. The result is a record that can be introspective, funny, romantic, bitter,
hopeful, and occasionally all of those things at once - less a retrospective than an ongoing
conversation with the person you used to be and the person you're still becoming.
Highlighted Tracks
-
Folks On Fire
An anthemic battle cry for dreamers.
-
78 Pinto
A humble old car becomes the unlikely vessel for a lifetime of memories.
-
Am
A hard-hitting, gut-wrenching reflection on an impossible love.
Unnatural XX
2025 • 11 tracks • Progressive Rock
Unnatural XX is a surreal concept album told through the perspectives of trees,
insects, animals, and people. Each song inhabits a different creature or character, using
its strange little corner of the natural world to explore fear, survival, freedom, instinct,
mortality, identity, and the forces we can never fully control.
What begins as a collection of seemingly unrelated creatures gradually becomes something more
connected: a world where the boundaries between predator and prey, life and death, self and
other, and natural and unnatural aren't quite as stable as they seem. The album moves between
the philosophical and the absurd, the unsettling and the playful, ultimately becoming a strange
journey through the question that sits underneath much of Crimulus' work: what does it mean
to exist, and how do we make sense of the world we're given?
Highlighted Tracks
-
The Fly
A fly's frantic world blurs fear, captivity, survival, and the struggle to escape.
-
The Fish
An introspective conversation with a fish anchored by a legendary acoustic riff.
-
The Bear
Facing the bear as a symbol of the uncontrollable forces shaping your life.
Live Performance
Room, Guitar, Connection
Crimulus typically performs solo on acoustic guitar, putting the songwriting
and the audience connection front and center. The stripped-down format leaves
room for expressive playing, memorable hooks, and the kind of storytelling
that makes a room feel less like a venue and more like a shared experience.
Humor, conversation, and a knack for letting the room shape the presentation
of each song make the performance feel personal to the audience - as though
each song were being played just for them. That connection makes the music feel
immediately relatable, whether the setting is a listening room, café, market,
festival, winery, community event, or traditional music venue.
Selected Live History
- Portland Saturday Market - Portland, OR
- Artichoke Music - Portland, OR
- Starday Tavern - Portland, OR
- Floyd's Coffee House & Wine Bar - Portland, OR
- Barrel Room PDX Bandapalooza - Portland, OR
- Gol PDX - Portland, OR
- OHSU Farmers Market - Portland, OR
- DAnu Wines / Hillsboro Art Walk - Hillsboro, OR
- Historic Butteville Store - Aurora, OR
- The Farmer's Market @ MHCC - Gresham, OR
- La Strada Chalk Art Festival - Hillsboro, OR
Press Quotes & Reviews
"The mix of the track was definitely a highlight ... I especially enjoyed the nice tone on your electric guitar as well as the tone of your vocals."
Austin, Indie Remedy playlist (Re: 78 Pinto)
"It has a cool foundational vibe."
Glitch&Gold (Re: The Fish)
"Your vocals are remorseful yet comforting, whilst the instrumentation roars with the revving guitars; also the folk influences here with the banjo gives this an idiosyncratic sound to the song."
Daily Dosa Playlists • Indie Rock That HITS (Re: Am)
"The emotional depth and lyrical sincerity of 'Am' are commendable."
The Key 109.3 (Re: Am)
Interview & Press Talking Points
- The Sound
-
Blending Appalachian folk and country traditions with indie rock,
progressive arrangements, distorted guitars, and the energy of
'90s and 2000s rock.
- The Songwriting
-
Turning life's emotional complexity - love, loneliness, aging,
identity, mortality, memory, and self-doubt - into catchy,
heartfelt songs that remain approachable and relatable.
- The Big Questions
-
A recurring curiosity about what it means to be alive, how we make
sense of the world we're given, and what happens when life takes us
somewhere different from where we expected to go.
- The Characters
-
Using dreams, animals, imagined worlds, historical settings, and
unusual perspectives to explore familiar human experiences from
unexpected angles.
- Aging & Perspective
-
What happens when looking backward becomes unavoidable, but moving
forward remains the more interesting choice.
- Studio vs. Stage
-
Building expansive, layered recordings in the studio while reducing
the songs to voice and acoustic guitar live, allowing the room and
audience to shape how each song is presented.
- DIY Recording
-
Writing, performing, engineering, recording, mixing, mastering, and
producing music independently from a home studio.
- Humor & Heart
-
Finding room for absurdity, wit, and unexpected fun even when songs
are wrestling with loneliness, regret, mortality, or other weighty
subjects.
Media Assets
Artist photos, live performance images, and album artwork are available
for promotional, editorial, and booking use.
Artist Photos
Album Artwork
