Cryptohelix - The Nostalgia Bottle Breaks

Cryptohelix

The Nostalgia Bottle Breaks
self-released; 2013

3. 4 out of 5

By Eva Cantillo

Based out of California, Cryptohelix is a long running one-man band has been creating pure rock nostalgia music on and off for the past 25 years. The music within his recent album The Nostalgia Bottle Breaks is totally grunge punk rock with an alternative edge. I am reminded of a hard core version of The Smiths, Velvet Underground and perhaps a bit of Sonic Youth.

The opening track on the album titled “Who Is That Man,” starts off with that quintessential “one, two, three,” before the percussion and drums come in to remind us of bands like Franz Ferdinand and Keiser Chefs. The lyrics go on to illustrate perhaps a metaphor of the typical person living in a modern society who always runs into “the man” at every corner; “Who is that man? Got a question writ across his face. I see him everywhere, every place. In the mirror, on the street.” These lyrics show rebellion and really qualify the music as punk rock and gives the audience something to infer and relate to while listening.

The track “Your Device” reminds me of open-mic poetry reading where the poet speaks to the beat of collective finger snaps. The vocals are melodic and then toward the bridge transform into a nice flow. The lyrics again call out on modern components of society; “Stay glued to your device, nothing’s changed, now look twice between the real and the artifice.”

The quality of sound on the album could be a bit better as the sound is smudged a bit, this could be attributed to the home studio recording method. Yet, at the same time this gives the album a nice vintage style and a very authentic look into punk music. Anyone into punk alternative rock willfind themselves digging The Nostalgia Bottle Breaks.

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