Crystal Castles: Life in 8-Bits
Michael Depland
Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Entertainment
The near future is bleak. It will be a cold, dystopian, metropolitan wasteland illuminated by blue and white lights. Also, it will be surprisingly fun to dance in. The debut album from electronic duo Crystal Castles is drenched in heavy synth and video game keyboards, and is an absolute electronic indulgence.
The record ranges from as panicked as a scramble to stop 6am alarm clock to as chill as a late night creep with your choice lover and all emotions in between. The Toronto based twosome, which features Ethan Kath producing the majority of the music and Alice Glass on occasional vocals, evoke almost a ghost like sound while still electronic.
Songs like "1991" place me downtown late at night. The city streets are 3am look empty, but there is much more that goes on than what is on the surface. The slow bump of "Magic Spells" seems detached and mathematic, however at the same time it maintains a sort of funkiness to it. There are so many strange dichotomies on this record, and they always seem to work out.
Alice Glass's voice is more of another beat or track than a unique instrument. Her ethereal canned vocals sounds like an eerie specter trapped in an Atari 2600. While Crystal Castles does utilize video game chips for sounds and keyboards, it doesn't feel overly gimmicky as many groups that use those sounds do. The name Crystal Castles is derived from She-Ra from He-Man and the Masters of the universe, but it also happens to be the name of a popular arcade game from the 80's. They say coincidence, but I'm a bit suspicious of that. Even so, there should be no confusion. This is an electronic record at heart.
Crystal Castles debut album demands to be blasted at full volume. It will travel through circuits in your house and play in all available venues. It is a poltergeist that won't leave your playlist in a long time. I'm looking forward to the future.
The record ranges from as panicked as a scramble to stop 6am alarm clock to as chill as a late night creep with your choice lover and all emotions in between. The Toronto based twosome, which features Ethan Kath producing the majority of the music and Alice Glass on occasional vocals, evoke almost a ghost like sound while still electronic.
Songs like "1991" place me downtown late at night. The city streets are 3am look empty, but there is much more that goes on than what is on the surface. The slow bump of "Magic Spells" seems detached and mathematic, however at the same time it maintains a sort of funkiness to it. There are so many strange dichotomies on this record, and they always seem to work out.
Alice Glass's voice is more of another beat or track than a unique instrument. Her ethereal canned vocals sounds like an eerie specter trapped in an Atari 2600. While Crystal Castles does utilize video game chips for sounds and keyboards, it doesn't feel overly gimmicky as many groups that use those sounds do. The name Crystal Castles is derived from She-Ra from He-Man and the Masters of the universe, but it also happens to be the name of a popular arcade game from the 80's. They say coincidence, but I'm a bit suspicious of that. Even so, there should be no confusion. This is an electronic record at heart.
Crystal Castles debut album demands to be blasted at full volume. It will travel through circuits in your house and play in all available venues. It is a poltergeist that won't leave your playlist in a long time. I'm looking forward to the future.
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