Initially a one-man studio project launched by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Timothy O'Connell, who was on his way to earning an M.A. in religion and medieval literature at Yale at the time, CMT had evolved over the course of several demos and D.I.Y. releases on O'Connell's Tyranny Belle Records to become a guitar, bass, drums and synth quartet by the time of last year's ambitious self-titled album.
The group resorts to generic alt-rock at times, as on "Black Neon," currently streaming from its Web site (www.myspace.com/cmtheatre). But on other tunes, including "Lorelei" from its album or "Little Children Scream," a tribute to/rewrite of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," you can hear the promise of a band struggling to find a unique path forward from its obvious influences.