Cryptograms (album)
Encyclopedia
Cryptograms is the second album from Atlanta, Georgia
-based indie rock
group Deerhunter
, released through Kranky Records
on January 29, 2007 on CD
and vinyl
. Following the 2005 release of its first full-length album Turn It Up Faggot
, Deerhunter began recording material for its next record at Rare Book Room studio in New York. This initial recording session failed, due to the physical and mental state of lead singer Bradford Cox, as well as malfunctioning equipment in the studio. The band returned to Atlanta, only giving recording a second try after encouragement from members of the band Liars
. The final version of Cryptograms was recorded in two separate day-long sessions, months apart, resulting in two musically distinct parts—the first includes more ambient music while the second contains more pop music elements. Cox sang most of the record's lyrics in a stream-of-consciousness manner; they include themes of death, companionship, and Cox's experiences with his genetic disorder Marfan syndrome
. Cryptograms was generally well-received by critics, and several publications placed the album on their lists of the top albums of 2007.
and walking pneumonia
at the time. The group was also working with malfunctioning equipment, including an out-of-tune piano and an uncalibrated tape recorder
. Cox later described the results of these sessions as sounding like "if you listen to Loveless
on mushrooms, and I mean that in not a complimentary way". In an interview with Pitchfork Media
, Cox said that the music was "on a scratched CD-R
under my bed", which "nobody will ever hear". These tracks were later made available, in mixtape form, on the Deerhunter blog.
Following the failed session Deerhunter returned to Atlanta. The group became acquainted with punk band Liars
, who encouraged them to give recording a second try. For their second attempt, Deerhunter returned to the same rural Georgia studio in which they had recorded their debut album Turn It Up Faggot
. This time successful, the album was recorded in two parts: the first half was recorded over one day-long session, completely filling the reel of tape the band had brought with them. The last song of this recording session, "Red Ink", ends with the tape spinning off the reel. The second half, recorded months later over a single day in November, begins with the song "Spring Hall Convert". During this recording session Cox had the flu, and his congestion
caused his voice on the album's pop
tracks to sound "really weird […] I always thought I would go back and redo them, but we never did."
Cryptograms was followed four months later by a four-track extended play
, Fluorescent Grey
, which was recorded while Cryptograms was being mixed. Cox indicated that each new track was worthy of being a single; one music critic characterized the EP as being less "dreamy" than Cryptograms. When Cryptograms was released on vinyl as a double album, the Fluorescent Grey tracks took up the fourth side.
that the group's new record "developed out of different circumstances, altogether."
Deerhunter's two recording sessions produced two halves of the album with distinct musical styles. The first half of the album is more ambient
in style and includes four ambient instrumental tracks. With the song "Providence", the band aimed to create a feeling of solitude. The idea for the song came about when, while in Providence
, Rhode Island during a 2005 tour, Cox had an argument with other members of the band. Having left his bandmates to cool off, Cox "walked around Providence at dusk" feeling "totally alone", while admiring his "meditative" surroundings. In the instrumental track "Red Ink", Cox and drummer Moses Archuleta worked to create an atmosphere in which the listener is dreaming he or she is dead and the experience of death feels like reality.
The second part of the album, which begins with "Spring Hall Convert", contains more elements of psychedelic
and pop music
. In an interview with L.A. Record
, Archuleta remarked that the band often received letters from fans who had listened to their music while stoned. He noted the negative connotations that come with being called a "psychedelic" band, and considered the group to be "pretty clean…[and] sober" in contrast, adding, "That’s funny that that’s people’s idea of what we’re into." "Spring Hall Convert" originates from a demo Cox first recorded in October 1998 when he was sixteen. On the Deerhunter blog, Cox wrote of two girls he knew from his school as one day being "bathed in this golden spring light in the hallway". He described himself feeling as close to them as if they were his sisters. The same day he recorded "Spring Hall Convert" on a karaoke machine; Cox wanted the song to reflect the "acid trip" he experienced seeing his friends in this light. He calls the song's drum track characteristic of his "stonedness" at the time, adding that "Hydrocodone
was [also] a factor." The lyrics of the track reflect Cox's experiences with his genetic disorder Marfan syndrome
. As a teenager he underwent "extensive" surgeries for his chest, ribs, and back. The lyrics reflect the experience of someone moving in and out of consciousness during chemotherapy
, while missing their friends and memories of a normal life. The original lyrics of the song written in 1998 were not changed when the track was re-recorded for Cryptograms.
In "Octet", Cox sings "I was the corpse that spiraled out into phantom hallways". The imagery of this song was inspired by the cover art of the Grove
paperback edition of the Dennis Cooper
novel Closer. In the album’s closing track, "Heatherwood", Cox tells of the house he was born in, where he believes he will return to die. "Strange Lights" is a song about "companionship, and facing uncertainty with someone". The song was written by guitarist Lockett Pundt, and is based on a dream he had in which himself, Cox, and a third person "walked into the sun together, knowing it was going to kill us", as described by Cox. The idea for the song "Lake Somerset" came from a trip Cox took to the zoo while hung over
, during which he saw a turtle eating carrots. "It was cool and adorable…It had this cute neck and was very small. It chewed slowly." When video producer James Sumner approached the band to make a music video for "Lake Somerset", Cox told Sumner he "wanted a video of a turtle eating a piece of pizza." Several days later, Sumner posted his video to YouTube
; it consists of a man in a turtle suit eating pizza for four straight minutes. Cox has said that the band's greatest achievement with Cryptograms was "evoking a feeling of someone who's woken up after being strung out one too many nights…It's the feeling of being lovesick and very spaced-out."
awarded the album the publication's "Best New Music" accolade, and later placed it fourteenth on a list of the fifty best albums of 2007. Pitchfork staff writer Marc Hogan wrote that Cryptograms "is alternately murky...ethereal, amorphous and incisive", calling the second half of the album "vastly more accessible" than the first. Mike Diver of Drowned in Sound
found the album's two halves "absolutely coherent; the sequencing allows the listener space to breathe at the most opportune moments, and its leaps from ambiance into adrenaline-soaked enthusiasm...are worthy of celebration." Tiny Mix Tapes
's Paul Haney enjoyed the "psych-crazed pop" found in the second half of Cryptograms, citing "Spring Hall Convert", "Heatherwood", and "Strange Lights" as exemplary tracks. Nick Sylvester of The Phoenix
considered the first half of the album to be irregular in style and quality, but found that this gave the transition between its two halves "a black-and-white-to-Technicolor moment (or TV to HDTV, if you prefer): "Spring Hall Convert" combines Deerhunter's come-up and come-down into the most uplifting rock song I've heard in a while, an explosion of gritty Velvet downstrums and swirling vocal harmonies."
The first half of Cryptograms was called "the problem child" by Kevin Elliott of Stylus Magazine
, characterizing this child as having been "medicated at a young age to subdue constant anxiety and the fear of death, overly mired in thoughts of regret and anguish, overwhelmed with ideas and insight." Mike Schiller of PopMatters
found that because the second half of Cryptograms "fixate[s] on examples of Deerhunter's songcraft, which is actually somewhat average", the use of delay effects
"mask[s] whatever deficiencies in musicianship Deerhunter might choose to hide". He believes the potential seen in the first half of the album is lost in the second. Allmusic writer Marisa Brown felt the band's ambient music is used to the extent that it becomes "commonplace, despite its avant-garde
leanings." The writer found that when Deerhunter "aims for the provocative and the esoteric", the band often "overreach[es] and end[s] up hitting something much more ordinary, predictably "experimental"…in a genre that's supposed to be anything but." Dom Sinacola of Cokemachineglow stated that all of Cryptograms "sounds, as a whole, too coherently cold", the tracks "Providence" and "Heatherwood" being exceptions.
The album placed high on lists of the best albums of 2007 of several publications, earning spots in the top twenty with Tiny Mix Tapes, The Phoenix, and Drowned in Sound. An article by Pitchfork Media gave musicians the opportunity to publicize their favorite records from 2007. Cryptograms received praise from Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear
, ranking the album as his third favorite of 2007. Klaxons
's James Righton and Black Lips
's Cole Alexander placed the album on their own top tens as well.
, except where noted. Lyrics by Bradford Cox.
Production
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
-based indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
group Deerhunter
Deerhunter
Deerhunter is an American four-piece indie rock group originating from Atlanta, Georgia. The band, consisting of Bradford Cox, Moses Archuleta, Josh Fauver, and Lockett Pundt, have described themselves as "ambient punk," though they incorporate a wide range of genres, including noise rock, art...
, released through Kranky Records
Kranky Records
Kranky is an independent record label, located in Chicago, Illinois. It was started in 1993 by Bruce Adams and Joel Leoschke.The bands it houses are noted for combining experimental and often electronic influences with elements of more traditional rock structures, and many of the artists on Kranky...
on January 29, 2007 on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and vinyl
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
. Following the 2005 release of its first full-length album Turn It Up Faggot
Turn It Up Faggot
Turn It Up Faggot is the debut album from indie rock group Deerhunter. The album's title refers to a taunt that was shouted at the band during early live shows although the album is also referred to as self-titled...
, Deerhunter began recording material for its next record at Rare Book Room studio in New York. This initial recording session failed, due to the physical and mental state of lead singer Bradford Cox, as well as malfunctioning equipment in the studio. The band returned to Atlanta, only giving recording a second try after encouragement from members of the band Liars
Liars (band)
Liars is a three-piece band formed in 2000 consisting of Angus Andrew , Aaron Hemphill , and Julian Gross...
. The final version of Cryptograms was recorded in two separate day-long sessions, months apart, resulting in two musically distinct parts—the first includes more ambient music while the second contains more pop music elements. Cox sang most of the record's lyrics in a stream-of-consciousness manner; they include themes of death, companionship, and Cox's experiences with his genetic disorder Marfan syndrome
Marfan syndrome
Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. People with Marfan's tend to be unusually tall, with long limbs and long, thin fingers....
. Cryptograms was generally well-received by critics, and several publications placed the album on their lists of the top albums of 2007.
Recording
Deerhunter first attempted to record their second album in 2005 with folk musician Samara Lubelski at Rare Book Room studios in New York. This recording session failed, due in part to the physical and mental state of lead singer Bradford Cox, who had influenzaInfluenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
and walking pneumonia
Community-acquired pneumonia
Community-acquired pneumonia is a term used to describe one of several diseases in which individuals who have not recently been hospitalized develop an infection of the lungs . CAP is a common illness and can affect people of all ages. CAP often causes problems like difficulty in breathing, fever,...
at the time. The group was also working with malfunctioning equipment, including an out-of-tune piano and an uncalibrated tape recorder
Tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
. Cox later described the results of these sessions as sounding like "if you listen to Loveless
Loveless (album)
Loveless is the second studio album by alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine. Released on 4 November 1991, Loveless was recorded over a two-year period between 1989 and 1991 in nineteen recording studios...
on mushrooms, and I mean that in not a complimentary way". In an interview with Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, Cox said that the music was "on a scratched CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
under my bed", which "nobody will ever hear". These tracks were later made available, in mixtape form, on the Deerhunter blog.
Following the failed session Deerhunter returned to Atlanta. The group became acquainted with punk band Liars
Liars (band)
Liars is a three-piece band formed in 2000 consisting of Angus Andrew , Aaron Hemphill , and Julian Gross...
, who encouraged them to give recording a second try. For their second attempt, Deerhunter returned to the same rural Georgia studio in which they had recorded their debut album Turn It Up Faggot
Turn It Up Faggot
Turn It Up Faggot is the debut album from indie rock group Deerhunter. The album's title refers to a taunt that was shouted at the band during early live shows although the album is also referred to as self-titled...
. This time successful, the album was recorded in two parts: the first half was recorded over one day-long session, completely filling the reel of tape the band had brought with them. The last song of this recording session, "Red Ink", ends with the tape spinning off the reel. The second half, recorded months later over a single day in November, begins with the song "Spring Hall Convert". During this recording session Cox had the flu, and his congestion
Nasal congestion
Nasal congestion is the blockage of the nasal passages usually due to membranes lining the nose becoming swollen from inflamed blood vessels. It is also known as nasal blockage, nasal obstruction, blocked nose, stuffy nose, or stuffed up nose.Nasal congestion has many causes and can range from a...
caused his voice on the album's pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
tracks to sound "really weird […] I always thought I would go back and redo them, but we never did."
Cryptograms was followed four months later by a four-track extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Fluorescent Grey
Fluorescent Grey EP
Fluorescent Grey is an extended play accompaniment to Cryptograms, the second studio release by Atlanta-based band Deerhunter. The EP was released on CD by Kranky Records on May 8, 2007, and later as a vinyl bundle with Cryptograms. A music video for the track "Strange Lights" is included with...
, which was recorded while Cryptograms was being mixed. Cox indicated that each new track was worthy of being a single; one music critic characterized the EP as being less "dreamy" than Cryptograms. When Cryptograms was released on vinyl as a double album, the Fluorescent Grey tracks took up the fourth side.
Music and lyrics
Cryptograms is more "subdued and introverted" musically, according to Cox, than Deerhunter's first release Turn It Up Faggot. Cox has shown disdain for that record in interviews, saying it "sounds like 2002—angry, post-hardcore dance punk. We were really young and angry." In contrast, Deerhunter's new album is "not the punk attitude" characteristic of Turn It Up Faggot. While Cox does not consider Cryptograms a "reaction" to its predecessor, he noted in an interview with Stylus MagazineStylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
that the group's new record "developed out of different circumstances, altogether."
Deerhunter's two recording sessions produced two halves of the album with distinct musical styles. The first half of the album is more ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
in style and includes four ambient instrumental tracks. With the song "Providence", the band aimed to create a feeling of solitude. The idea for the song came about when, while in Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, Rhode Island during a 2005 tour, Cox had an argument with other members of the band. Having left his bandmates to cool off, Cox "walked around Providence at dusk" feeling "totally alone", while admiring his "meditative" surroundings. In the instrumental track "Red Ink", Cox and drummer Moses Archuleta worked to create an atmosphere in which the listener is dreaming he or she is dead and the experience of death feels like reality.
The second part of the album, which begins with "Spring Hall Convert", contains more elements of psychedelic
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. In an interview with L.A. Record
L.A. Record
L.A. Record is an independent music magazine originally published weekly as a broadsheet poster. The poster usually depicts a local Los Angeles musicians and according to the magazine editors is meant to recreate an iconic album cover. In March 2008, it began publishing as a monthly magazine with a...
, Archuleta remarked that the band often received letters from fans who had listened to their music while stoned. He noted the negative connotations that come with being called a "psychedelic" band, and considered the group to be "pretty clean…[and] sober" in contrast, adding, "That’s funny that that’s people’s idea of what we’re into." "Spring Hall Convert" originates from a demo Cox first recorded in October 1998 when he was sixteen. On the Deerhunter blog, Cox wrote of two girls he knew from his school as one day being "bathed in this golden spring light in the hallway". He described himself feeling as close to them as if they were his sisters. The same day he recorded "Spring Hall Convert" on a karaoke machine; Cox wanted the song to reflect the "acid trip" he experienced seeing his friends in this light. He calls the song's drum track characteristic of his "stonedness" at the time, adding that "Hydrocodone
Hydrocodone
Hydrocodone or dihydrocodeinone is a semi-synthetic opioid derived from either of two naturally occurring opiates: codeine and thebaine. It is an orally active narcotic analgesic and antitussive...
was [also] a factor." The lyrics of the track reflect Cox's experiences with his genetic disorder Marfan syndrome
Marfan syndrome
Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. People with Marfan's tend to be unusually tall, with long limbs and long, thin fingers....
. As a teenager he underwent "extensive" surgeries for his chest, ribs, and back. The lyrics reflect the experience of someone moving in and out of consciousness during chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
, while missing their friends and memories of a normal life. The original lyrics of the song written in 1998 were not changed when the track was re-recorded for Cryptograms.
In "Octet", Cox sings "I was the corpse that spiraled out into phantom hallways". The imagery of this song was inspired by the cover art of the Grove
Grove Press
Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1951. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United States. The Atlantic Monthly Press, under the aegis of its...
paperback edition of the Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist.-Career:Cooper grew up the son of a wealthy businessman in Arcadia, California. His first forays into literature came early, focusing on imitations of Rimbaud, Verlaine, de Sade, and Baudelaire...
novel Closer. In the album’s closing track, "Heatherwood", Cox tells of the house he was born in, where he believes he will return to die. "Strange Lights" is a song about "companionship, and facing uncertainty with someone". The song was written by guitarist Lockett Pundt, and is based on a dream he had in which himself, Cox, and a third person "walked into the sun together, knowing it was going to kill us", as described by Cox. The idea for the song "Lake Somerset" came from a trip Cox took to the zoo while hung over
Hangover
A hangover describes the sum of unpleasant physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the...
, during which he saw a turtle eating carrots. "It was cool and adorable…It had this cute neck and was very small. It chewed slowly." When video producer James Sumner approached the band to make a music video for "Lake Somerset", Cox told Sumner he "wanted a video of a turtle eating a piece of pizza." Several days later, Sumner posted his video to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
; it consists of a man in a turtle suit eating pizza for four straight minutes. Cox has said that the band's greatest achievement with Cryptograms was "evoking a feeling of someone who's woken up after being strung out one too many nights…It's the feeling of being lovesick and very spaced-out."
Reception
Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
awarded the album the publication's "Best New Music" accolade, and later placed it fourteenth on a list of the fifty best albums of 2007. Pitchfork staff writer Marc Hogan wrote that Cryptograms "is alternately murky...ethereal, amorphous and incisive", calling the second half of the album "vastly more accessible" than the first. Mike Diver of Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
found the album's two halves "absolutely coherent; the sequencing allows the listener space to breathe at the most opportune moments, and its leaps from ambiance into adrenaline-soaked enthusiasm...are worthy of celebration." Tiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, as well as its mix tapes generator.-History:Originally called Tiny Mixtapes Gone to Heaven and...
's Paul Haney enjoyed the "psych-crazed pop" found in the second half of Cryptograms, citing "Spring Hall Convert", "Heatherwood", and "Strange Lights" as exemplary tracks. Nick Sylvester of The Phoenix
The Phoenix (newspaper)
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
considered the first half of the album to be irregular in style and quality, but found that this gave the transition between its two halves "a black-and-white-to-Technicolor moment (or TV to HDTV, if you prefer): "Spring Hall Convert" combines Deerhunter's come-up and come-down into the most uplifting rock song I've heard in a while, an explosion of gritty Velvet downstrums and swirling vocal harmonies."
The first half of Cryptograms was called "the problem child" by Kevin Elliott of Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
, characterizing this child as having been "medicated at a young age to subdue constant anxiety and the fear of death, overly mired in thoughts of regret and anguish, overwhelmed with ideas and insight." Mike Schiller of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
found that because the second half of Cryptograms "fixate[s] on examples of Deerhunter's songcraft, which is actually somewhat average", the use of delay effects
Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
"mask[s] whatever deficiencies in musicianship Deerhunter might choose to hide". He believes the potential seen in the first half of the album is lost in the second. Allmusic writer Marisa Brown felt the band's ambient music is used to the extent that it becomes "commonplace, despite its avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
leanings." The writer found that when Deerhunter "aims for the provocative and the esoteric", the band often "overreach[es] and end[s] up hitting something much more ordinary, predictably "experimental"…in a genre that's supposed to be anything but." Dom Sinacola of Cokemachineglow stated that all of Cryptograms "sounds, as a whole, too coherently cold", the tracks "Providence" and "Heatherwood" being exceptions.
The album placed high on lists of the best albums of 2007 of several publications, earning spots in the top twenty with Tiny Mix Tapes, The Phoenix, and Drowned in Sound. An article by Pitchfork Media gave musicians the opportunity to publicize their favorite records from 2007. Cryptograms received praise from Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear (band)
Grizzly Bear is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band, composed of Edward Droste , Daniel Rossen , Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear . The band employs traditional and electronic instruments...
, ranking the album as his third favorite of 2007. Klaxons
Klaxons
Klaxons are a British indie rock band, based in London. Following the release of numerous 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007....
's James Righton and Black Lips
Black Lips
Black Lips are a "Flower Punk" band from Atlanta, Georgia.-History:The band formed in 1999 in Dunwoody, Georgia after guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley left the Renegades, and guitarist Ben Eberbaugh left the Reruns. Alexander and Swilley were known for their crude antics both...
's Cole Alexander placed the album on their own top tens as well.
Track listing
Music written by Moses Archuleta, Bradford Cox, Josh Fauver, Colin Mee and Lockett PundtLotus Plaza
Lotus Plaza is the solo project of American musician Lockett Pundt, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist of Atlanta-based ambient group Deerhunter. Pundt joined Deerhunter in 2005 as a guitarist. He is also the best friend of Deerhunter vocalist Bradford Cox. His debut album as Lotus Plaza, The...
, except where noted. Lyrics by Bradford Cox.
- "Intro" – 2:50
- "Cryptograms" – 4:17
- "White Ink" – 4:59
- "Lake Somerset" – 3:49
- "Providence" – 4:08
- "Octet" – 7:50
- "Red Ink" – 3:40
- "Spring Hall Convert" – 4:29
- "Strange Lights" – 3:38 (music by Lockett Pundt)
- "Hazel St." – 3:48
- "Tape Hiss Orchid" – 1:12
- "Heatherwood" – 3:37
Personnel
Deerhunter- Moses Archuleta — synthSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
/pads, drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, electronicsElectronicaElectronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, treatments - Bradford Cox — vocalsHuman voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
, electronics, tapesTape recorderAn audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
, drum, acoustic slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
, bell setBell (instrument)A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
, accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Josh Fauver — tremolo bassTremolo armA whammy bar, tremolo arm/bar, or vibrato arm/bar is a component of a guitar, used to add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, reverse guitarBackmaskingBackmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward...
, vocals - Colin Mee — guitar, tapes, electric guitar
- Lockett Pundt — synth bells, guitar, acoustic slide guitar, hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, vocals
Production
- Susan Archie — layout designPage layoutPage layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements on a page.- History and development :...
- Chris Bishop — productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Jennifer Munson — masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- L. Somerset — author
- Nicolas Vernhes — mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
External links
- Album overview on Kranky RecordsKranky RecordsKranky is an independent record label, located in Chicago, Illinois. It was started in 1993 by Bruce Adams and Joel Leoschke.The bands it houses are noted for combining experimental and often electronic influences with elements of more traditional rock structures, and many of the artists on Kranky...
website - Album overview on Southern.net