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Crystal Castles
Participated by Crystal Castles
Studio : Last Gang Records
by Last Gang Records
Release Date : 2008-03-18
Publisher : Last Gang Records
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
EAN : 0060270096226
UPC : 060270096226
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 15 reviews)
List Price : $13.98
Our Price : $8.50
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Americancivilwar.com |
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Electronic music is constantly ready to evolve, a point Crystal Castles seem determined to prove on their self-titled debut. They come from a heavily retro/electro place in the spectrum, wallowing in bits of debris from the ‘80s: video game bleeps and pixilated sounds found deep in the Casio archive. But it’s all twisted up, prodded past redundancy or homage to a state that feels genuinely innovative. How do they manage this? Part of the answer is in Alice Glass’s vocals, which are endlessly malleable; she can punk-scream her way through blizzards of squeaky noise ("Alice Practice," "Love and Caring") or get cute ("Good Time") without breaking character. But the real secrets to their reinvention, ironically enough, are in old-school details like melody, hooks and unpredictable, fun songwriting. All the boops, bleeps and whirs in the world can’t distract from the catchiness of songs like "Black Panther" and "Air War." Still, it must be said that listening to the record is vaguely unnerving at times; you feel a bit like Pac-Man stuck in his blocky maze. And yeah, some songs stretch invention into irritation (the unlistenable "Xxzxcuzx Me"). On the other hand, it never fails to be interesting and repeated listens smooth out the edges just enough to appreciate the band’s careful shading and confidence. So open your mind, enjoy the rampant creativity, and don’t eat the ghosts until they turn blue. –Matthew Cooke |
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real artists don't rip off other artists |
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this band is evidence that kids will eat up anything; totally untalented, and they have to steal from others? Make your own music, make your own artwork or else quit- obviously a creative field isn't right for these chumps. |
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Brilliant, refreshing, and on the edge |
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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. |
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Very nice! |
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Excellent album, not for everyone. Despite having a wide variety of style in their tracks, my boyfriend called it "The most irritating music he's ever heard". I personally find it very fun and fresh. If you can enjoy bass laden synth-y tracks often accompanied by very distorted vocals, give them a try. |
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schticky |
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This just seems like somebody capitalizing on the whole ironic Urban Outfitters 80's post glam thing. Certainly, dance music is repetitive by nature, but more can be done than this. I'm a sucker for atari-esque and 8bit tones, but I'm not falling for the leather jackets and neon colors motif. I guess it's kind of frightening when musicians get labeled as visionaries for being the first to rehash a bygone decade. It's fun and bouncy and not necessarily distinguishable from other fun bouncy pop electronica. Probably great music for your Miami Vice themed halloween party. eh. |
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Are thet copy cats? |
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I read that they are copying other bands left and right. This may be true, but even if they weren't, they certainly copy themselves from track to track. That may be even worse. Yawn. |
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