Rating: 
On the sixth track of Crytpacize‘s debut album they sing “every note is an unfinished song,” and clearly they take this to heart, but far too much for my liking. This song comes off just as the lyrics, leaving the feeling that they have collected a plethora of unfinished songs.
From the get go, I really was interested in this album. Asthmatic Kitty puts out a lot of really good records, and recently, Sufjan Stevens put out his support for the band. A lot of promise. Then you add the perfectly beautiful vocals of singer Nedell Torrisi, and, well, the promise of this album continued.
That was about as far as the promise got for me, although I have to admit, that something curious inside me lingers to keep listening to this album–that I can’t explain. Maybe I have to be in the middle of a different season, rather than this Texas heat.
Where did the promise go? Probably the same place as the percussion on the majority of these songs! It evaporated! I mean even the Five Civilized Tribes used predominantly percussive instruments. This album lacks them, severely, which makes it hard for the album to progress in any direction, instead it leaves it to meander through twelve uneven tracks.
Sadder still is that these guys have the ability to write some really special moments, such as in the song “Heaven is Human,” where I begged the guitar to break loose throughout the song, but they held it back. They showed you a guitar, a few solid lines, and then they took them away just as quickly. This band does have a lot of potential, it is just not there yet.
Then again, Sufjan Stevens likes them, so maybe I’ve got it all wrong. Perhaps I just don’t understand this genre of music, where musicianship takes precedent over songcraft–you can have the best musicians in the world, creative even, but if you can’t write a song, it doesn’t mean a thing.
I think you should go and see for yourself. The band plays at the Mohawk this Saturday with Devon Williams. You can find yourself some tickets at this convenient Interweb sales-site.
Grand Archives will be coming to Stubbs this Saturday in support of their recently released album Grand Archives. The band will be joined by label mate Sera Cahoone who will be showcasing songs off her recent Sub Pop release Only as the Day is Long. You can find tickets to the show on Stubbs website for only $10 or you can get one at the show for $12. ATH will be on hand for what should be a stellar show, with a full review and pictures of the show coming early next week. Songs from Grand Archives & Sera Cahoone can be found below:
