Taking a trip Inside Mono / Poly’s “Cryptic”

Mental habits seem to manifest themselves into everyday behavior. Some people drink, some people abuse drugs, some people have wreckless sex. Or, if you’re anything like me, you’ll know you’re in a bad place when you listen to the same music—during those activities. Over and over, on a loop, like a bad acid trip which consoles the mind. This is comfort. Although mentally in a seemingly endless spiral of uncertainty and anxiety, the same music is a familiarity that we can use to minimize our stress.

But, there can be a re-discovering of oneself in the crescendo of a sound. Through mindfulness in listening, comes second chances. Mono / Poly’s 2016 album Cryptic, ironically has been on repeat for me. It’s dark, and expansive, providing room to think through my thoughts. Seemingly directionless, each track builds upon the last, providing a journey that leads through darkness outwards to an astral plane. Peak moments, for me live between track 4 and track 7. What starts off stubborn/technical with staccato intro beats on “Intergalactic” transitions into an eerie horror film score-ish sound with “Flooded”. In the middle we have Biggie’s verse from “Everyday Struggle” featured in “Raw Power Moves”. The transitions compliment each other well.

“Packed up my tools for my raw power move/ Glock 19 for casket and flower moves,” on a loop provides a peak in the story arc like a placeholder for a character’s redemption. The build up of tension through the use of eerie tones intensifies with the ultimate crashing down of “Nocturne”. The sound breaks off into a million pieces, floating into the space Mono / Poly gives the listener with the final and bonus track, “B Life”.