Kryptic Minds - One Of Us (2009)

Kryptic Minds - One Of Us (2009)



Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. One Of Us
03. Generation Dub
04. Stepping Stone
05. Something To Nothing
06. Six Degrees
07. Three Views Of A Secret
08. Secure Lost
09. Dissolved
10. Chosen Few
11. Organic
12. Distant Dawn

My Review : 

By this point, I'm pretty confident about what I like in my dubstep. What I want is for an artist to know exactly what they want to do and to stick to that, almost pig-headedly. It doesn't matter what that thing is, just as long as there's a clear motive and directive - be it Vex'd and their love of harsh industrial noise and caveman rhythms, and subsequent determination to make music as heavy as possible, or Burial's constant evocation of urban loneliness, or the dancefloor-ready craziness of a track like Unitz's "The Drop" or The Bug's "Angry".

Kryptic Minds prove it, by being an act with a seemingly unlimited source of good ideas and smart touches, but no clear goal. While One of Us is definitely a good record, it's hard to work out a reason for it to exist, which is a problem for me. Some of it aims for Burial's atmospherics and cut-up vocals, some for Pinch's songcraft, some for a drum'n'bass/dubstep hybrid, some for Boxcutter's IDM experiments, and none of it ever really gels into a conhesive statement. It's not even really something you coudl call derivative, it just seems a little aimless, good as it is.
 

Kryptic Minds – Can't Sleep (2011)

Kryptic Minds – Can't Sleep (2011)



Tracklist
1 Brief Passing 4:48
2 The Things They Left Behind 6:05
3 Just After Sunset 5:50
4 Fade To Nothing 5:08
5 No More No Less 6:12
6 Can't Sleep 5:41
7 Alone 6:05
8 Myth 5:49
9 The Fifth 6:08
10 Depth Of Field 6:27
11 Arcane 5:43
12 A Glimpse Of Hope 5:37
13 1000 Lost Cities 6:15


 My Review : 

Kryptic Minds generally have two established sounds on Can't Sleep: trim and lean, or lumbering and heavy. No matter their goal, Simon Shreeve and Brett Bigden always manage to do it with the utmost finesse and grace. In a genre more and more often associated with crashing beats and unpleasant screeching, subtlety and nuance is precious; and while the kind of dubstep Kryptic Minds continue to dish out can rarely be said to be breaking down boundaries, it's solid enough to lay a promising foundation and detailed enough to keep you coming back.