.Cryptacize

Mythomania

The coed trio Cryptacize doesn’t lay everything out plainly for the
listener — no, indeed. While some self-consciously quirky
indie-rock combos have their catchy melodic hooks borne upon the
ensemble playing, and the “quirk factor” is in the lyrics or singing,
Cryptacize does it upside down.

The group’s singing carries its sweetly engaging melodies, going
against the grain of the fractured and oblique music. “Blue Tears”
begins with a herky-jerky riff that sounds like early XTC
playing/parodying reggae, while Nedelle Torrisi’s plaintive vocals make
like a celestial girl group — with the precarious innocence of
the Carpenters or early Supremes — imploring from (or to) Heaven.
“The Cage” has a duo-vocal melody evoking Fairport Convention/Ida-like
folk-rock juxtaposed against dissonant Sonic Youth-like guitar clang. A
few songs have a slightly more conventional structure (the vaguely
gothic, Mazzy Star-ish “Galvanize”) but mostly it’s Cryptacize tilting
and subverting pop and rock conventions.

Some of Mythomania is strangely beautiful, while some of it
feels so cleverly calculated that it becomes more interesting than
enjoyable. A tough call — your enjoyment of this depends on how
much subversion you like accompanying your tour through Pop nirvana.
(Asthmatic Kitty)

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