Capsule Review: Cryptacize's Mythomania

Label Asthmatic Kitty seemed poised to capitalize on the neo-folk renaissance of a few years ago, releasing albums by Sufjan Stevens, Half-Handed Cloud, Castanets, and My Brightest Diamond. These acts, pegged by leanings toward the spiritual, confessional and multi-instrumental, could easily have led the label’s charge into the next ten years. Instead, they switched gears. It’s not just that indie rock is perhaps less serious than it was five years ago, when Stevens was penning a song about John Wayne Gacy. In all probability, the label was in a better position to release more records than ever, and they picked some fun ones. Power to ‘em. Starting with the dance-rock Fol Chen, the label has also seen the release of Grampall Jookabox’s newest full-length, and, starting last year, releases by Cryptacize.

A short primer: Chris Cohen left the band Deerhoof to fully concentrate on his own project, Curtains. Curtains still exists, but also splinted off into Cryptasize, with percussionist Michael Carreira and vocalist/instrumentalist Nedelle Torisi. So, what can you expect from this new formation? Lots of pop hooks, actually. Deerhoof is an avant-garde project, but always had its ear tuned to all things catchy, and before this projected Torisi was singing praises to girl groups with her project Nedelle and Thom.

The songs on their second release, Mythomania, are attention grabbing, frequently gorgeous, and utilize Cohen’s guitar chops to a surprising extent. Carreira is a talented percussionist who values restraint, and Torisi, though not the most powerful vocalist, has a sweet delivery and a spot-on tone. Songs like “New Spell” revel in repetitive but smart choruses, and album starter “Tail & Mane” kicks off with a bouncy beat and the bittersweet refrain, “If I could find/ my way back to you.” The title track has a jaunt a little reminiscent to The Crystals and boasts a killer ‘60s chorus to boot.

Cohen takes the microphone to lend the occasional backing vocals, and to lead “What You Can’t See Is.” Though not as sprightly as Torisi, his vocals lend some melancholy to what would otherwise be a perhaps preternaturally peppy release. The five-minute “Galvanize” also veers into darker shades, but the organ, piano, and Torisi’s vocals warmly transcend the difficult subject matter.

The one critique of Mythomania that comes to mind is that as accomplished as it is, it doesn’t sound radically different than anything you’ve heard before, or skirt convention the way a band like, say, Deerhoof might. That might be a deterrent for the more experimentally minded, but Mythomania has enough to recommend it to even the most casual indie-pop fan.