Cryptograms (album)
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''Cryptograms'' is the second album from
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-based
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
group
Deerhunter Deerhunter is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2001. The band currently consists of Bradford Cox (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Moses Archuleta (drums, electronics, sound treatments), Lockett Pundt (guitar, vocals, ...
, released through Kranky on January 29, 2007, on CD and
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from 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 Bradford James Cox (born May 15, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Deerhunter. He also pursues a solo career under the moniker Atlas Sound. Cox formed Deerh ...
, 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 In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. It is usually in the form of an interior monologue which i ...
manner; they include themes of death, companionship, and Cox's experiences with his genetic disorder
Marfan syndrome Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a multi-systemic genetic disorder that affects the connective tissue. Those with the condition tend to be tall and thin, with dolichostenomelia, long arms, legs, Arachnodactyly, fingers, and toes. They also typically ha ...
. ''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
influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...
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 An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
. Cox later described the results of these sessions as sounding like "if you listen to ''
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'' on
mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
, and I mean that in not a complimentary way". In an interview with ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'', Cox said that the music was "on a scratched
CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can only be Write once read many, written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) ...
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 Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
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 An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
, ''
Fluorescent Grey ''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 on May 8, 2007, and later as a vinyl bundle with ''Cryptograms''. A mus ...
'', 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 Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...
'' 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 or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...
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 often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, 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 Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...
and
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...
. 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… ndsober" 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 is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. In ...
; 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 "
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was lsoa factor." The lyrics of the track reflect Cox's experiences with his genetic disorder
Marfan syndrome Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a multi-systemic genetic disorder that affects the connective tissue. Those with the condition tend to be tall and thin, with dolichostenomelia, long arms, legs, Arachnodactyly, fingers, and toes. They also typically ha ...
. 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 (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
, 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 Dennis Cooper (born January 10, 1953) is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist. He is best known for the ''George Miles Cycle'', a series of five semi-autobiographical novels published between 1989 and 2000 and describe ...
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 Lockett James Pundt IV (born October 7, 1982) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist. He is the guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of Atlanta-based indie rock group Deerhunter which he joined in 2005. Pundt also releases solo mater ...
, 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 A hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects usually following the consumption of alcohol, such as wine, beer, and liquor. Hangovers can last for several hours or for more than 24 hours. Typical s ...
, 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
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; 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

''Cryptograms'' received positive reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ''
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'' 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 ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') 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, ...
''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 Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the now defunct ''Boston 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'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...
'', 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'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' found that because the second half of ''Cryptograms'' "fixate on examples of Deerhunter's songcraft, which is actually somewhat average", the use of delay effects "mask 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 AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
writer Marisa Brown felt the band's ambient music is used to the extent that it becomes "commonplace, despite its
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
leanings." The writer found that when Deerhunter "aims for the provocative and the esoteric", the band often "overreach sand end 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 Boston Phoenix'' and ''Drowned in Sound''. An article by ''Pitchfork'' gave musicians the opportunity to publicize their favorite records from 2007. ''Cryptograms'' received praise from
Ed Droste Edward Droste (born October 22, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, licensed therapist, and musician, formerly of the rock band Grizzly Bear. The group began as the solo effort of Droste with the release of 2004's '' Horn of Plenty'', origin ...
of
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, ranking the album as his third favorite of 2007.
Klaxons Klaxons were an English Rock music, rock band, based in London. Following the release of several Gramophone record, 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick (Klaxons song), Magick ...
's
James Righton James Nicholas Righton (born 25 August 1983) is an English musician. As well as singing, he was the keyboard-player of the London-based new rave band Klaxons, which disbanded in 2015. In March 2016, Righton announced his new project Shock Machi ...
and
Black Lips Black Lips is an American garage rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. History The band formed in Dunwoody, Georgia, after guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley left the Renegades, and guitarist Ben Eberbaugh left the ...
's Cole Alexander placed the album on their own top tens as well.


Track listing

Music written by Moses Archuleta,
Bradford Cox Bradford James Cox (born May 15, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Deerhunter. He also pursues a solo career under the moniker Atlas Sound. Cox formed Deerh ...
, Josh Fauver, Colin Mee and
Lockett Pundt Lockett James Pundt IV (born October 7, 1982) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist. He is the guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of Atlanta-based indie rock group Deerhunter which he joined in 2005. Pundt also releases solo mater ...
, 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 Moses Archuleta is an American drummer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the indie rock band Deerhunter, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. Archuleta also records so ...
 â€“
synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
/
pads Pads (also called leg guards) are a type of protective equipment used in a number of sports and serve to protect the legs from the impact of a hard ball, puck, or other object of play travelling at high speed which could otherwise cause injuries t ...
,
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
s,
electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
, treatments *
Bradford Cox Bradford James Cox (born May 15, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Deerhunter. He also pursues a solo career under the moniker Atlas Sound. Cox formed Deerh ...
 â€“
vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
, electronics, tapes, drum, acoustic slide guitar, bell set,
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
,
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
*
Josh Fauver Joshua Donald Fauver (December 4, 1978 – November 2, 2018) was an American musician. He served as the longtime bassist for the band Deerhunter from 2004 to 2012. Fauver replaced second Deerhunter bassist Justin Bosworth in 2004 following Bosw ...
 â€“ tremolo bass,
bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
, reverse guitar, vocals *Colin Mee â€“ guitar, tapes, electric guitar *
Lockett Pundt Lockett James Pundt IV (born October 7, 1982) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist. He is the guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of Atlanta-based indie rock group Deerhunter which he joined in 2005. Pundt also releases solo mater ...
 â€“ synth bells, guitar, acoustic slide guitar,
hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...
, vocals Production *Susan Archie â€“ layout design *Chris Bishop â€“
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...
,
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
*Jennifer Munson â€“ mastering *L. Somerset â€“ author *
Nicolas Vernhes Nicolas Jean Vernhes is a French record producer, recording engineer and record label owner. He is best known for his work with the American indie rock acts Animal Collective, Deerhunter, The Fiery Furnaces, Dirty Projectors, Wild Nothing and Th ...
 â€“ mixing


References


External links


Album overview
on Kranky website
Album overview
on Southern.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Cryptograms (Album) 2007 albums Deerhunter albums Kranky (record label) albums Art punk albums Shoegaze albums by American artists Ambient albums by American artists Psychedelic pop albums