CryFace will release a long-awaited studio album, Suds, on June 16, 2017. It marks the Blissfield-based quartet’s first legitimate effort with professionally produced material, with the release heralded by a show at uptown’s Ottawa Tavern. The Toledo City Paper caught up with band members Ian Cotter, Levi Makula, Daniel Cotter, and Robert Neyrinck to discuss the release of the new album and the band’s official snack: donuts.
CryFace began as a recording project helmed by Ian that later evolved into a full-fledged band. “I used to record a lot of music on my own,” Cotter said. “All I really knew how to do was record. I had never really played shows. I got Levi and Daniel involved and then Robert joined a year later and kind of filled out the sound with the bass.”
What does CryFace sound like? For the boys, it’s pretty hard to pinpoint. “We normally say garage rock, indie rock, slacker rock.” Daniel explained. “I don’t know if that really fits anymore though. Now, with better production, like, indie rock, garage rock, and glam punk!” The other members chimed in to agree.
Prior to Suds, CryFace released two albums, An Evening with CryFace in 2015 and Donuts in 2016, with the names of both albums generated from personal stories.
The roll of rock
Donuts is named after one of the band’s sweetest passions— all members of the band are, in short, obsessed with donuts. They’re a band tradition. “I was thinking about it the other day,” Levi said. ”I’ve eaten about 3 donuts a week consistently. For like the last 2 years.” Daniel added, “We went through a period during the recording of the first album when we would probably eat like close to 5 or 6 donuts a week. We would literally record every night and then go out for donuts.”
Morning Fresh Bakery, based in Adrian, MI, was ground zero for the habit. When asked if they were granted a frequency discount Daniel added “No, but we probably should at this point! It’s open 24 hours, so we’d sometimes get done with recording at like midnight, and since none of us had jobs, we’d just go get donuts.”
The new album, Suds, was made possible by a chance encounter with Brent Bryan at a coffee shop. Ian explained: “He had a much nicer recording setup than the one we were working with at my house. He really vibed with us and brought some nice production ideas to the table. It feels way more like how an actual producer would work with a band.”
Scrubbed sound
Suds has a much cleaner sound compared to the first two albums. Robert said, “There are a lot of older influences like classic rock and some progressive rock in there, as opposed to the first two albums. Even the bass parts were a lot more poppy or even funky in the last albums. Suds has some grit to it and some stuff underneath that tries to come up to the surface.”
Echoing the sentiment and commenting on the process Levi explained “We typically worked out the kinks in the studio. We come with an idea, however big or small, and have everyone else fill it in with their own personalized beauty and disgustingness.”
Uptown Toledo’s indie music scene is experiencing a bit of a resurgence after a long, stale period. When asked about being apart of the progress, Levi said, “We feel good about it. We love the people here and we’re really excited!”
CryFace will play at The Ottawa Tavern (1817 Adams St.) with Secret Space, Woodpecker’s Pass, and Twin Frames at 9pm on Saturday, June 17. Tickets are $5.
