And now for something completely different....
Well I am taking some time off for Easter and am back home in Flowery Branch, GA. It's great to see the family and also to have some time on my hands. So I figured I would do a long overdue update.
As it says, this is the self-titled debut album from Canadian duo Crystal Castles and it is a different. Sounding like they jumped straight out of an Atari game this band specializes in low-fi electronic rock. Ethan Kath, multi-instrumentalist, and Alice Glass, vocals, started recording together in 2005 and hit the mainstream as a complete accident. Their demo of Glass recording some test vocals over Kath's 8-bit beats, which was aptly titled "Alice Practice", was leaked to the internet and became an overnight sensation. The combination of the aggressive yet indecisphirable vocals and unique low-fi melodies made for a sound that was unlike anything else out there. They got more press by doing some remixes for some artists in the electronic community and then released their eponymous debut in 2008.
This album is a very hypnotic listen but at the same can be very jagged and unsettling. Case in point, the track "Magic Spells" creates an electronic landscape that borrows alot from the trance scene but then has, at random intervals, Glass' almost possessed sounding vocals. Overall the track is a very soothing listen though. But then it jumps right into the pounding beats and snarling lyrics of "Xxzcuzx Me". There couldn't a more different feel to this song because it comes off as such abrasive track after following a such a laid back one. The dichotomy of this whole album keeps you in unfamiliar territory throughout each listen because you never know what is coming next. It can't be overstated how much the music sounds like it is straight out of a NES game but that is what is so appealing about it, the retro sound is the hook but it never becomes tired. A perfect example of a track that effectively uses the 8-bit sounds is "Air War" which features vocals from Glass that come off as pure babble but for some reason it sucks you right in. Another highlight is the beautiful and reserved ballad "Tell Me What to Swallow" that closes the album. It is completely unexpected after the barrage of electronics that you go through during the listen but it is a genius reprieve from the proceedings.
I won't lie to you, you're gonna either love this album or hate it. Hopefully it's not the latter but if so, at least you gave a try listening to something strange and new. Afterall, isn't that the fun of being a music fan?
Track highlights: Untrust Us, Crimewave, Courtship Dating, Love and Caring, Tell Me What To Swallow
