Cryptacize
Dig That Treasure
(Asthmatic Kitty, 2008)

Nedelle Torrisi, one of the lead singers of Cryptacize, has been singing, playing music, and writing songs for as long as she can remember. In the process, she developed her own winning blend of folk, pop, R&B; and rock, and put out a bunch of albums both solo (Republic of Two on Kimchee) and with various collaborators. She cut Summerland (Kill Rock Stars) with Thom Moore of the Moore Brothers, and Calamity with the Curtains (Asthmatic Kitty), a project helmed by guitarist/songwriter Chris Cohen. Cohen, the other singer and songwriter of Cryptacize, also has a long history of making what many critics call idiosyncratic music, most notably with Deerhoof, a band known for an unpredictable style that features asymmetrical songwriting and a hyperactive performing style. When the Curtains started winding down, Torrisi and Cohen began collaborating, and Cryptacize was born. The final member of the trio, drummer/percussionist Michael Carreira, heard Cohen was looking for a drummer and sent him a link to a YouTube video of a solo cowbell performance. Cohen was impressed and amazed when he found out Carreira lived in Berkeley, not far from the Oakland house he shared with Torrisi.

Cryptacize is a pop band, maybe even a rock band, but Torrisi, Cohen, and Carreira don’t hew to any easily identifiable formulas. There’s no indie rock shoegazing, no sprightly pop tempos, no long guitar solos. What there is is terrific songwriting and inventive arrangements that will have you wondering what’s going to happen next. Cohen’s electric guitars, Torrisi’s autoharp—not an instrument one associates with pop music—and Carreira’s unexpected percussion flourishes make music that’s both inviting and experimental, while the band lives up to its name with their oblique lyrics.

Dissonant guitar and delicate autoharp strums set the tone for “Stopwatch”, the portrait of a dissolving relationship. Carreira mimics the ticking of a clock while Torrisi’s luminous vocals sadly sing of lost love and unfinished business. Cohen’s guitar slowly builds a discordant climax to end the song, and presumably the relationship. “Heaven is Human” is almost a straightforward pop tune with a chorus that’s instantly memorable. Cohen’s asymmetrical guitar and irregular percussion accents add mystery to the song. “Water Witching Wishes” is another mysterious tune, musically reminiscent of a Spaghetti Western soundtrack with its dramatic use of space and time. Twangy guitar notes hang in the air, autoharp strums resonate and fade, and Cohen sings lead in a voice that sounds like it’s on the verge of a breakdown. It’s a spooky, cinematic tune. Cohen also sings lead on the title track, a folk song full of longing and romance, supported by celestial autoharp and sparse harmonica accents. What the lyrics mean is anybody’s guess. “Cosmic Sing Along” is a duet, and isn’t the least bit psychedelic, at least not musically. It sounds more like a tune from a 1940s Republic cowboy film; Carreira taps out a trotting beat, Cohen plays sparse twangy fills, and the harmony vocals are deliriously happy.

In her youth, Torrisi wanted to perform on Broadway, and the songs on Dig That Treasure have a definite theatrical air about them—tuneful narratives of unrequited love that paint musical pictures full of wide-open emotional spaces. Torrisi’s evocative singing, the cinematic feel of Cohen’s guitar, and Carreira’s drumming open up the songs, sending them into a magical realm where space and time cease to exist and music is all there is.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]