Cryptacize is best known as the latest project of ex-Deerhoof guitarist Chris Cohen, but it often feels like Nedelle Torrisi’s band. Her mellifluous vocals, wisely placed high in the mix, are Mythomania's focus. She has an acute sense of melody, and nearly every chorus wields an infectious, indelible vocal line. On opening track “Tail and Mane,” Torrisi weaves a bizarre tale detailing the theft and subsequent painting of a horse. "I painted the tail and mane of the horse I stole today/ Arrived but out of town/ And then I'll be on my way." The equinity continues two tracks later with “Blue Tears,” anchored with twitchy, staccato guitar-bursts and a galloping, rimshot-clicked rhythm: "These blue tears run down my cheek/ Fill my mouth, I cannot speak/ Run run run down my cheek/ This isn't me."
While not much has changed in Cryptacize’s music since their debut album, the deceptively simple, uncluttered formula still works, allowing them to showcase solid songcraft without ostentatious studio polish. A bass line will occasionally appear, with auotoharp and organ periodically showing up too, but tinny, clean-to-lightly distorted guitars predominate. Other aesthetic tricks work in favor of the album, too. For instance, Torrisi’s “dryer” tracks (that is, with little-to-no reverb) are refreshing in their simplicity, particularly in this time of reverb-saturated vocals. Her voice is strong enough on its own to forego studio embellishment, and frankly, it’s just lovely.
But there are also inconsistencies and awkwardness. While the first four songs blend seamlessly together, Mythomania is overall a bit lopsided. After a well-paced first lap, the album slows down to an uncomfortable crawl around “The Loving Sun” and “Gotta Get Into That Feeling,” which pale in comparison to the strength of the opening tracks. Most confusing about the sequencing here is how “Galvanize” wasn’t placed last. It would have made a great stopping point, but the band goes on a quaintly enjoyable dubby excursion (“I’ll Take the Long Way”) and ends with “New Spell,” one of the album’s weaker tracks.
Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, Mythomania floats by pretty quickly and feels rather ephemeral. It’s certainly enjoyable, but the skeletal arrangements often leave something to be desired, and some tracks feel severely underdeveloped. “The Cage” in particular, is one of the most memorable and structurally interesting songs here, but it ends abruptly. Cryptacize have made an album that sounds welcomingly familiar for fans of Cohen's aesthetic, but it won't likely gain them a much wider fanbase.
1. Tail & Mane
2. What You Can't See Is
3. Blue Tears
4. Mythomania
5. The Loving Sun
6. Gotta Get Into That Feeling
7. One Block Wonders
8. The Cage
9. Galvanize
10. I'll Take the Long Way
11. New Spell
More about: Cryptacize
