Crystal Castles

I was first exposed to the self-titled debut of the Ontario-based Crystal Castles about a year ago, and found myself immediately entranced by the duo's eclectic off-brand emotional electronic sound. Ethan Kath's mix of strong, repetitive base beats and experimental usage of overlaying sounds produces and endlessly-listenable soundtrack in which one easily loses himself. Throw in the occasional presence of Alice Glass's dynamic vocal style, which ranges from punk-rage to smooth melodic and even shows moments of pop influence, and the result is an immensely entertaining and interesting album. While Kath produces the beats throughout the album in the tradition of Electronische Musik, using purely electronic sound, he does not shy away from the world of sampling, manipulating tracks from artists such as Death From Above 1979, HEALTH, Grandmaster Flash, Van She, and others to bring further depth to his music. In doing so, he is able to bring emotion and meaning into tracks that do not incorporate Glass. Compositions such as "Untrust Us", "Magic Spells", and "Reckless" evoke sentiments not normally felt in electronic tracks that utilize the driving dance beats that Kath uses so habitually throughout the album. While on first listen these songs seem designed to produce the involuntary movements of the head, hips, and limbs that the techno-dance genre often does, upon closer listen one finds that there is more to be discovered. Unlike many albums in the genre, it is easy to lay back and just listen to "Crystal Castles". It can be an oddly introspective experience, taking you through yourself and back without telling you what, if anything, you will find. There is an emotional presence in the tracks that is often lacking in electronic music when lyrics are forsaken. From time to time throughout the album the power of Kath's beats is amplified by his vocal partner Alice Glass. In the seven tracks on which she is featured, her voice incorporates itself flawlessly into the composition, as if it came from an electronic source itself. This is in part due to Glass's dynamic vocal ability, and in part due to the expert vocal production of Matthew von Wagner, drawing on the live sound manipulation techniques of the Musique Concrete movement of the 1940's and 50's. Wagner uses these techniques so brilliantly that Glass's voice is almost unrecognizable as human in tracks such as "Xxzxcuzx Me". Ethan Kath has taken these manipulations a step further in the group's live performances, in which he uses live treatments of Glass's voice in songs such as "Crimewave" to emulate the original track's sound, which borrows from the HEALTH song of the same name. Regardless of production, however, Glass's vocals have an unmistakable presence on the album. She provides at times both the rage of a tormented soul and the melody of a spirit at peace, and does each equally effectively, an impressive feat on an album that features her on less than half its songs. The key to the album as a whole is its delicate balance of solid beats and chaotic melodies. It contains dancefloor-worthy works such as "Vanished" and "Courtship Dating", which have appeal for even the most timid of listeners, but simultaneously does not shy away from the more experimental melodies found in "Xxzxcuzx Me" and "Air War". Even these tracks, however, are based on unyielding background beats that provide a structure to their chaos. In this, the album may prove disappointing to the fans of experimental extremes and noise music, but it is a solid composition for any listener of more traditional electronic music, and serves as a great first-listen to those new to the genre.

Vinyl came in good condition and played good without and problemsBut I did not like that the vinyl came with some light scratches that are pretty noticeable but doesn't affect the playback but it does worry me that it could in the near future or even damage my vinyl needle.Also didn't like that 2 vinyls come in a tight album cover which makes it a little hard to take out sometimes and I don't wanna damage the vinyls.other than that I'm happy that they are playable.

At first I bought this and didn't take to this album it was too much electronic noise, but I heard a track at a club, Crimewave, and fell in love with the great driving 80's electronica beats, weird synth sounds, and computer altered voices. I could listen to this one over and over again and not be bored.Some of the songs, I can't stand like Alice Practice, Xxzxcuzx Me, Love and Caring, and Through the Hosiery - way too much electronic noise for my taste.The other standouts on this album are Courtship Dating, Good Time, Vanished, Tell Me What to Swallow. The beginning of Courtship Dating sounds like it was sampled from a bad pop song at the beginning, but as soon as you hit 22 secs the lush layering of sounds, beats, electronic noises, and intriguing lyrics are incredibly catchy. I love the enigmatic lyrics - you can barely grasp what they're trying to say. Good Times is just a catchy loop of solid 80s inspired pop kinda Missing Persons sounding without the quirky female voice - can get a little annoying with the repetition if you don't like it. Vanished is spacey, catchy, and haunting - has hints of New Order in the refrain. Tell Me What to Swallow - bare, acoustic, dark, and enchanting - hints of a darker Kate Bush.

In the 80's...Cure (old cure esp'ly), new order, depeche mode, kraftwerk....Music that let you dance....lose yourself....as if there were no tomorrrow...I hesitated b/c the refs suggest experimental, video game noise....but that completely misses it...This music is full of passion...electronica and dance...but it's submerged in decadance, a bit of melancholy, and degradation (vocals, melodies in minor) that overlays a tremendous life force that bursts up and soars...wounded. Crystal Castles is now at the top of my list...

I'll confess at a first listen I was a bit disappointed with this album. A few cool on line samples drove me to buy the album, but even on 2-3 listens I thought the ablum was more instrumental than vocal, and not very melodic. It was probably the 4th listen that I realized there ARE vocals, they're just either buried in the mix, or heavily treated (vocoder, distortion, etc.), and the album actually is quite melodic - just more on a subtle level. It is very difficult these days to come up with anything new, and that's not always the most important thing with music anyway, but Crystal Castles bring a fresh and innovative sound and dare to take risks. The risks give this album a hard-edged indie feel that flirts with pop without selling out. If you like bands like Sneaker Pimps, The Faint or Miss Kittin & The Hacker you should check out this band for sure. Great album, I look forward to future releases by this band.

Magic Spells is cool.

Amazing band. A combination of dance-like songs and more mellow ones to trip out to. I appreciate the gamer love with the variety of sound clips and noises this band combines in their songs.

I love CC. great music. the CD that came in was nice quality and I recommend y'all to check them out.

Great price, gd quality. CC FOR LYFE!!

Great album received with bent cover which may have been the post's fault. they did however offer me a new one if I sent it back.

totally love this album went straight out and got the other twobrilliant a fantastic mix of crazy beats and electronic wizardrycompared with some of the stuff thats out there this group should be massive

Excellent. Thank you.

all ok