Dig That Treasure

Cryptasize

Asthmatic Kitty

2008-04-21

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Cryptasize is the new project by two-thirds of The Curtains, Nedelle Torrisi and Chris Cohen. They hunted down drummer Michael Carreira to join after seeing a video of him playing cowbell. They formed in a near-derelict house with sloping floors which could have given rise to the unusual arrangements, and that house’s position next to a sugar factory (and a constant, dizzying smell of burning sugar) may have contributed to the sweet, strange songs. Then again, maybe these had nothing to do with it. Regardless, it’s nice to have a back story and this peculiar inception has produced a lovely debut.

The title is a nice allusion to listening to the LP. The eleven tracks on here are strange confections: at first it’s like panning for gold as moments of gorgeous nuggets of melody appear, or a short burst of harmony jumps out. But on repeated listens these unexpected shifts and changes from one style to another become cherished moments in an overall journey. “How Did The Actor Laugh?” moves from quiet Low-like blues into 60’s psychedelic whimsy. “Heaven Is Only Human” has bursts of Beatles pop and the barely-there strum of “We’ll Never Dream Again” is punctuated a shimmering, spine-tingling, wordless chorus.

A subtle, rewarding and emotive experience.

It might be slightly twee on occasion (like on “Cosmic Sing-A-Long”) but any sweet passages are cut through with minor-chord melancholy (as on “Water Wishing Witches”) or lines such as “like a panoramic photograph, still I know I’m only seeing half” from “Stop Watch”.   

The arrangements and genesis are lo-fi, but the finished articles are rich, playful and influenced as much by musicals as DIY indie bands like Beat Happening. There are reference points to compare Dig That Treasure to in the name of description (like Sufjan Stevens, Espers and, naturally, The Curtains), but it wouldn’t really do it justice. This is a subtle, rewarding and emotive experience.