I first encountered Crystal Castles in 2007, when they opened for Metric at the 9:30 Club. I was less than impressed by the early incarnation of their live show that I saw and wrote a pretty critical review to that effect (my powers of premonition apparently leave something to be desired, as evidenced by the damning quote, “Crystal Castles…seem destined to live out their days in relative, albeit, hip obscurity”). In the course of writing that review, however, I happened upon the band’s MySpace page and found myself returning with surprising frequency, in order to hear tracks like “Alice Practice” and “Crimewave”. By the time the band’s full-length saw release in 2008, I was a dyed-in-the-wool fanboy, as my review of their debut LP—which identifies the duo as no less than the saviors of electro—attests.
Still, as much as I love this band, I wasn’t expecting anything quite as accomplished as this new album—I don’t think anyone was, really. Bands making music this volatile usually aren’t built to last; they tend to burn brightly and quickly before disappearing in a plume of rumor and speculation. So it’s to everyone’s surprise that the second album to bear the title Crystal Castles is a sophisticated, refined, polished affair, the unmistakable product of a band with career ambitions. It’s also catchy as hell and digs deeper into many of the ideas and genres (goth-pop! house!) that the band previously nodded toward superficially, pushing past the dissonance and noise to find the kernel of pop that lies at the heart of each song. I had thought that I would finally be able to put this record down after I had finished penning my review but as it turns out, that was just wishful thinking. The longer I live with Crystal Castles, the deeper my fascination with it grows and it just might be my favorite album of the year thus far. Read my full review of Crystal Castles (II) here.
