No matter how much Crystal Castles insist they're named after She-Ra's fortress and not the 1983 arcade favorite, thanks to the Atari sound chips in their keyboards, their music evokes vintage video game soundtracks -- albeit ones that have been folded, spindled, and mutilated almost past recognition. On their self-titled debut, Crystal Castles (aka Ethan Kath and Alice Glass) hurl eight-bit bleeps, bloops, and noise as relentlessly as Space Invaders marching down a screen, turning these sounds into sometimes chaotic, sometimes moody synth pop with a jagged edge. Though their low-res synths can't help but sound nostalgic (and song titles like "Air War" and "Reckless" sound like forgotten games), Crystal Castles are fresher, more complex, and much less gimmicky than might be expected, especially for those familiar with only the band's singles. Granted, those singles are still some of Crystal Castles' definitive tracks: the darkly, violently catchy "Alice Practice" pits Glass' serrated but melodic shout-singing against rippling, strafing, and strobing synth onslaughts, and "Crimewave" gives that sound a brooding groove. However, Crystal Castles go wider and deeper on the rest of the album, teetering between order and chaos, noise and melody, and energy and atmosphere in ways that are unpredictable but consistently interesting. Glass is a chameleon, terrifying on one track and kittenish on another. She's a black-eyed, short-circuiting android on "Xxzxcuzx Me," singing of "robotic love" as her voice degrades into pixels almost as soon as she opens her mouth, and a spaced-out valley girl bopping to "Good Time"'s deceptively cheery pulse. Indeed, a remarkable amount of melancholy haunts Crystal Castles, from the eerie keening on the Knife-like opening track, "Untrust Us," to the danceable gloom of "Vanished" and the wistful, almost serene "Magic Spells" -- all of which throw freakouts like the claustrophobic electro bump 'n' grind "Love and Caring" into even brasher contrast. By the time Crystal Castles wind down with "Tell Me What to Swallow"'s ethereal cooing and guitars, it's clear that Kath and Glass are already looking for more ways to expand on this familiar-sounding, edgy, innocent, menacing, bold, nuanced, and altogether striking debut.
our finally messiah so saith in quotes hath once againspoken in the harmony'sbeen waiting."At last, optimism," is this what I felt?A surge of powerthrough veinslike rushing andwe said "how does it feelwhen you can't feel nothing"pump pump our inside hearts beatuntil our chests turn purple.
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Pics coming soon. They're awesome, so come back later to take a peek. If you haven't seen Crystal Castles before, let me describe what their shows are like. Alice Glass comes onstage, literally screams into a microphone, and completely loses it, with some help from heavy pre-gaming. I know that many of you are probably thinking, "Hey, I could do that. I could be Alice Glass." No, you coul...
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i wanted to jump on the arp theme day.i was at the store today and was perusing through the crappy selection of dance music. i picked up an album by a band id never heard of before. crystal castles. fun stuff.
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--- - |- Pesky "recording commitments" have forced Crystal Castles to nix a whole bunch of UK dates that the blippy duo had planned for September. To make up for it, the Castles have thrown several more UK club dates onto their August itinerary since our last report, not quite covering the spread, but certainly earning them some brownie points with the folks who'd otherwise be stuck with the p...
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Oh goddess, I'm in LUV with this damn song. It's so damn obnoxious but I can't help it, lol. Alice Smith's voice is wonderfully abrasive in this, it has a great punk feel to it yet with a nintendo videogame soundtrack to it. A video sampler of the album: The self titled album that came out earlier this year almost got into my top 10 for the half year. But I'm not sure I'll be listening to this ...
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i wanted to jump on the arp theme day.i was at the store today and was perusing through the crappy selection of dance music. i picked up an album by a band id never heard of before. crystal castles. fun stuff.
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I guess Crystal Castles made this weird, sticky video just for fun because the description for the vid reads: "Video not meant for release. Due to internet leak here it is." Well, I know there are plenty of moggers who love a good internet leak, so here is the recently leaked video for Crystal Castles' "Air War":The song "Air War" was released as a single on 7" via Trouble Recordings and will ...
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This Kids Designs Are Fresh To Death Check The Rest @ His Site.=Surround@ Deviant Art Bonus: Remix Of "Vanished" Thats Been Floating Around By Mr Vega: Crystal Castles - Vanished (Mr Vega Remix) Mr Vega Myspace (C.C. Or Mr Vega need To Get In Touch With This Kid)
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Mogsters,Hello! I've been all crushed-out on Crystal Castles since they arrived with their She-Ra-inspired name and all. I especially like the song "Crimewave", though I had no idea what they were saying. WELL! Here's what they're saying/singing:Eyes lit I pawn short breaths A fawn's dark eye lids But life's breath like a sun against my head Eyes lit I pawn short breaths A fawn's dark eye lids...
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our finally messiah so saith in quotes hath once againspoken in the harmony'sbeen waiting."At last, optimism," is this what I felt?A surge of powerthrough veinslike rushing andwe said "how does it feelwhen you can't feel nothing"pump pump our inside hearts beatuntil our chests turn purple.
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can't stand in stand in front of y'unlessyougotthecocaine nobodiespush the strobe until it gives i don'tgive a god damn for shitfuckallget high through my megaphonegod damn it my eyeliner goddamnsmeared in the pulsing crowdrelease your dirty dirtysell us sell us
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The Mask Of Emotion was developed by the Digital Media Design Department at Hongik University in Korea. It has a preset of seven emoticons that can be changed by the wearer (how exactly isn't clear). It also makes crossing busy intersections infinitely more dangerous. Is that a power cable dangling in the background of the last picture?
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Crystal Castles / Crystal Castles Crystal Castles / Vanished / Video (Please open the article to see the flash file or player.) youtube See the full Dance list @ Amazon.com
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Don't think I forgot about you , my fellow bloggers and bloggees. I've been chest deep in work, and I'm not out yet. I've got some things planned for the end of the year including another interview or two (???) as well as my top 30 albums of the year coming up. Bear with me, it's almost finals week. Until I can spend the time to complete these glorious tasks I will leave you, my beloved reade...
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It's not always the easiest to navigate, but it's always a great excuse to plan a trip to NYC: indie rock's fall break for the CMJ Marathon is fast approaching, so book a hotel or a friend's couch and bring some padded shoes/bank accounts. You can be reasonably certain most every small-to-mid level act that's made your bloglines of late will have a showcase or two, but some highlights from the ...
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There's been plenty of new music lately, and although I'd like to give you detailed descriptions about each facet of each minute of each album I've been getting into recently, I can't, it takes too much time. And so, a few words about each:Crystal Castles has a S/T on the way, middle of March to be exact (the 18th). If I were you and was a fan I'd get it when it comes out, because it's niace, a...
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Pics coming soon. They're awesome, so come back later to take a peek. If you haven't seen Crystal Castles before, let me describe what their shows are like. Alice Glass comes onstage, literally screams into a microphone, and completely loses it, with some help from heavy pre-gaming. I know that many of you are probably thinking, "Hey, I could do that. I could be Alice Glass." No, you coul...
More >
Music Under Fire last wrote about Crystal Castles back in April and then some controversy surrounding the band surfaced. Although news about the group since has died down, a torrent of remixes have flooded the internet and we have the best ones here, including the Sinden remix of "Crimewaves" that was the bonus track on the album. The self-titled album from Crystal Castles flipped our swit...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Untrust Us |
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| 2 Alice Practice |
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| 3 Crimewave |
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| 4 Magic Spells |
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| 5 Xxzxcuzx Me |
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| 6 Air War |
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| 7 Courtship Dating |
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| 8 Good Time |
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| 9 1991 |
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| 10 Vanished |
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| 11 Knights |
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| 12 Love and Caring |
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| 13 Through the Hosiery |
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| 14 Reckless |
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| 15 Black Panther |
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| 16 Tell Me What to Swallow |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Crystal Castles")
