CRYSTAL CASTLES - Crystal Castles

Just when you thought electroclash was dead, Crystal Castles arrive to deliver a swift kick to the knackers. Ok, it’s not as punky as Peaches or gritty as Adult., but Crystal Castles still fully correspond to the electroclash template. The recipe goes something like this: beg, borrow and steal from the vanguard of 80s electronic legends, buy a mixture of cheap-sounding synths/samplers, sprinkle atop a variety of computer console bleeps, then sequencer/blend to reassemblage.

Ok, so I’m being slightly pedantic – but trust me, I’m not too wide of the mark when it comes to this Toronto-based outfit’s debut album. Of course, that’s not to say that this is a bad album, Ethan Kath has a firm mastery over his “toys” and produces a healthy does of simplistic chip tunes; Alice Glass' vocal contribution on the other hand is more ten-a-penny, but adds some much needed salt.

Crystal Castles starts very well, with some expressive electro-pop ditties such as Untrust Us, the shouty Alice Practice, and the charming Crimewave. Meanwhile, Magic Spells is wholly consuming with its effects-ridden melody tones and glitchy, deliberately over-sequenced production values. Its simplicity is the key, winning you over in the end.

However, as Crystal Castles continues, it frequently irritates. They haven’t just named their band after a 1983 arcade game by Atari, but actually spend much of the album lifting those weedy software tunes and tones that literally makes the basis for the rhythm section. On tracks such as Air War, 1991 and Knights you feel as though you’ve been transported back to an early 80s arcade, then subjected to the archaic twiddling of a dozen teenage thumbs and fingers.

Although staunchly repetitive at times, such moments are interjected by the pleasant pop of Good Time and to counter-act that, the raw ugliness of Love and Caring, where Glass’ vocal angst appears to lack authenticity – it’s difficult to take a punk attitude to heart when it's surrounded by the 32-bit tones of Pacman.

Crystal Castles opens well, flickers back into life in the middle and closes reprehensively – 16 tracks is too much, and this album would have fared much better with 10 or 11. As the closing Tell Me What to Swallow ambles into some warmly expressive shoegaze territory, one wonders if Crystal Castles couldn’t have made a slightly better fist of what is still a more than decent debut.



	CRYSTAL CASTLES - Crystal Castles
	7.3
	Different ~ DUFB 1200 CD ~ 28th April 2008
	Just when you thought electroclash was dead, Crystal Castles arrive to deliver a swift kick to the knackers. Ok, it’s not as punky as Peaches or gritty as Adult., but Crystal Castles still fully correspond to the electroclash template. The recipe goes something like this: beg, borrow and steal from the vanguard of 80s electronic legends, buy a mixture of cheap-sounding synths/samplers, sprinkle atop a variety of computer console bleeps, then sequencer/blend to reassemblage. Ok, so I’m being slightly pedantic – but trust me, I’m not too wide of the mark when it comes to this Toronto-based outfit’s debut album. Of course, that’s not to say that this is a bad album, Ethan Kath has a firm mastery over his “toys” and produces a healthy does of simplistic chip tunes; Alice Glass' vocal contribution on the other hand is more ten-a-penny, but adds some much needed salt. Crystal Castles starts very well, with some expressive electro-pop ditties such as Untrust Us, the shouty Alice Practice, and the charming Crimewave. Meanwhile, Magic Spells is wholly consuming with its effects-ridden melody tones and glitchy, deliberately over-sequenced production values. Its simplicity is the key, winning you over in the end. However, as Crystal Castles continues, it frequently irritates. They haven’t just named their band after a 1983 arcade game by Atari, but actually spend much of the album lifting those weedy software tunes and tones that literally makes the basis for the rhythm section. On tracks such as Air War, 1991 and Knights you feel as though you’ve been transported back to an early 80s arcade, then subjected to the archaic twiddling of a dozen teenage thumbs and fingers. Although staunchly repetitive at times, such moments are interjected by the pleasant pop of Good Time and to counter-act that, the raw ugliness of Love and Caring, where Glass’ vocal angst appears to lack authenticity – it’s difficult to take a punk attitude to heart when it's surrounded by the 32-bit tones of Pacman. Crystal Castles opens well, flickers back into life in the middle and closes reprehensively – 16 tracks is too much, and this album would have fared much better with 10 or 11. As the closing Tell Me What to Swallow ambles into some warmly expressive shoegaze territory, one wonders if Crystal Castles couldn’t have made a slightly better fist of what is still a more than decent debut.