CRYPTACIZE, THE DEAD SCIENCE, GHOST TO FALCO
(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) Nedelle Torrisi and Chris Cohen alternate lead vocal duties for California’s Cryptacize, and their respective approaches help characterize what makes this trio noteworthy. Torrisi’s guileless yearning gives the band an at-times theatrical feeling, while Cohen’s drier delivery and Morricone-ready guitar lines shift the territory from stage lights to Cinemascope. On their debut, Dig That Treasure, they literally invoke transcendence at certain points (“Cosmic Sing-a-long” and “Heaven is Human”), and there’s also a sparse, discernible silence hovering behind the music that they make. It’s the rush to overcome this that ultimately makes the band’s songs as compelling as they are, lending a greater gravity to their offbeat pop sensibility. TOBIAS CARROLL

MP3:
Cryptacize - Cosmic Sing-a-long

Futuristic space photo by Kate Fruchey