Cryptacize are a bit of an Alternative supergroup, fronted by ex-members of Deerhoof and Kill Rock Stars solo artist Nedelle Torrisi. Supergroups mostly disappoint, but this one is actually good.
Supergroups start under the assumption that three or more artists from bands who are already established in their own right will produce something that’s bigger than the sum of its parts. More often than not, the sparks never fly and all band members muck around rueing the day they left their last outfit.
Thankfully, this is not the case here. Tighter than Deerhoof and fuller than Torrisi’s solo work, Cryptacize crank out excellent pop tunes. ‘Mythomania’ is no stadium rock album that opens itself up on the first listen. The songs are catchy enough to make you come back for more. You’ll probably pick one or two favourites after the first time, but with every repeat visit you will find that another song has grown on you until you start to love the whole album.
I started with ‘Galvanize’ and the title track ‘Mythomania’, then got drawn into ‘New Spell’, ‘The Cage’ and ‘One Block Wonders’. Now I just play the whole thing from start to finish.
What I like best is that Cryptacize can fool around with different styles without sounding all over the place. There is some Sixties pop, electronic sounds, shoegazer indie rock, a hint of ska and a dash of New Wave (think Gang Of Four). On a bad day, this could have sounded like a pretty half-baked excuse of an album, but the engaging songwriting is keeping it together better than it reads on your screen.
Cryptacize are Nedelle Torrisi, a solo artist signed to the Kill Rock Stars stable of top Alternative acts, on guitar and vocals; former Deerhoof guitarist and current The Curtains member Chris Cohen on guitar; Michael Carreira on drums, and Aaron Olson on bass.
Listen here to the promotional MP3 of ‘One Block Wonders’. Just click on the MP3 Player below.
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We say: 
Cryptacize are playing a number of dates in Europe in May and June. Readers in Ireland can catch the band’s live show on the 29th of May at Whelan’s in Dublin.
Cryptacize - European Tour Dates 2009
20 May 2009 Privatclub, Berlin
21 May 2009 UT Connewitz, Leipzig
22 May 2009 dBs, Utrecht
24 May 2009 Freebutt, Brighton
25 May 2009 Cargo, London
26 May 2009 Pure Groove in-store, London
26 May 2009 Windmill (Brixton), London
27 May 2009 The Cavern, Exeter
28 May 2009 Union Chapel, London
29 May 2009 Whelans, Dublin
30 May 2009 Captain’s Rest, Glasgow
31 May 2009 Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
1 Jun 2009 Deaf Institute, Manchester
2 Jun 2009 Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
4 Jun 2009 Cafe De La Danse, Paris
5 Jun 2009 Quilt Quilt, Bethune
6 Jun 2009 Terra Trema Festival, Cherbourg
8 Jun 2009 Worm, Rotterdam
9 Jun 2009 Vortex, Siegen
10 Jun 2009 King Georg, Cologne
11 Jun 2009 Steinbruch, Duisburg
12 Jun 2009 Hafen 2, Offenbach
If You like Cryptacize, you may also like:
Animal Collective
Bon Iver
Beirut
Deerhoof
