 | Tracklist:
1. Fainting Spells
2. Celestica
3. Doe Deer
4. Baptism
5. Year of Silence
6. Empathy
7. Suffocation
8. Violent Dreams
9. Vietnam
10. Birds
11. Pap Smear
12. Not in Love
13. Intimate
14. I Am Made of Chalk
| Ranking: #149 for 2010 | |
| | other reviews | Dylan S. (4.5)
This is your baptism. And you can't forgive them.... | Kevin Kurber (4)
CC2 is just the kind of sophomore release you want to see from an artist, with Glass and Kath findin... |
On 83 Lists
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| Summary: Crystal Castles haven't grown any more sophisticated or interesting in titling their albums, but thankfully they have with their music. |
13 of 13 thought this review was well written
Crystal Castles was never exactly a groundbreaking force in the whole 8-bit, chiptune, whatever-you-want-to-call-it genre they emerged from. What made vocalist Alice Glass' and multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath’s take on it so exciting was the energy, the pop sensibilities, and attitude they brought to the proverbial table. It wasn’t wholly original, but they had some interesting ideas, and... well, it didn’t hurt that Glass is so easy on the eyes, either. On their sophomore effort, which is a self titled one like their first (they’re too cool to title their albums, man), they downplay the glitchy bleeps a bit to flesh out their sound a bit more, and it pays off wonderfully.
The widened scope of their sound is displayed perfectly with the first two tracks. Fainting Spells opens up Crystal Castles’ second self titled album with an ungodly, ear piercing cacophony that rages on for two minutes before some semblance of an actual beat appears. It comes together nicely, but then abruptly ends, with gloomy dancefloor-friendly single Celestica picking up nearly exactly where it leaves off. Celestica, like the lion’s share of the tracks, has a sweet dreaminess to it that could almost sound warm, if not for the icy, robotic production. A lot of this is due to how good Kath is with applying effects to Glass’ voice; he enhances her already alternately sweet and vicious voice by either smothering it with echo or drowning it with distortion, getting the maximum result from each extremity. Then there are songs (particularly the pair of Violent Dreams and Vietnam) where the tweaking is something else altogether, in the same vein as the weirder vocal moments from the debut, but pushed a bit more, even resembling that of the Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson at times. Another great quality of Kath’s production that we’re reminded of is his impeccable taste in samples, as demonstrated by Year of Silence’s throbbing, fuzzy bass and synth topped over by a disorienting loop of Sigur Rós’ Jónsi Birgisson singing.
The fact that Crystal Castles have branched out as well as they have is quite impressive, especially considering how gimmicky their nintendo bleep centered debut could come across at times. Crystal Castles are by turns blistering and beautiful here, and are at times even able to pull off both simultaneously (like on the utterly brilliant Baptism). There isn’t as cohesive a feel as on their debut, but that’s to be expected when experimenting this broadly with a base sound. Besides, even at the most disjointed moments (the harsh Doe Deer and Birds come to mind), everything is very well constructed, and the songs are able to blend in with the rest of the album at least on the grounds that they share a disorienting and cold quality found just about everywhere else.
There really isn’t much to complain about with Crystal Castles’ second (self titled) album. The impressive broadening of their sound finds the duo less reliant on fashionably low res electronics, getting better ideas, and putting them to better use. In a way, this is a very relieving album; it shows the duo growing from something potentially campy into something more full bodied and listenable, and it’s easy to see this set of songs standing alongside the year’s best. The only thing I really dread about it is that I know it's going to be in heavy rotation at hipster clothing stores all over by the time summer hits.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
Damn I wanted to post the first review for this. Good review though
Digging: Paloma Faith - Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? Digging: Paloma Faith - Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? | | | Album Rating: 4.5
I LOVE THIS ALBUM.
I probably shouldn't.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
No you should
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
guilty pleasure
Digging: Sidi Touré - Koima Digging: Sidi Touré - Koima | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Vietnam is so good
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I hate this band.
But solid review man
Digging: Amon Duul II - Phallus Dei
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Thought this was funeral doom judging by album art hahahaha.
Digging: Vaura - Selenelion
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
"I hate this band."
i honestly hate the fact that i don't hate this band...
and yeah good review bro
| | | Album Rating: 2 | Sound Off
Can't stand these guys. But this was better than the first.
Digging: Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards The Daylight Digging: Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards The Daylight | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Celestica is sooo good but don't tell anyone.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Digging this greatly. Just plain love it. Some stand-out tracks and some lesser ones, but amazing, nonetheless.
| | | Album Rating: 4
shit rules
Digging: Love American - Disquiet | | | Album Rating: 2
pos'd
but this fucking sucks
Digging: Not In Portland - Inherit Yourself Digging: Not In Portland - Inherit Yourself | | | Album Rating: 2.5
Great review, although I'm not liking this as much as I liked the original.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
"Celestica is sooo good but don't tell anyone."
LOL i know
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I'm basically a carbon-copy of Pitchfork and I hate it.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
It took me a good while to get into, but this is a big improvement in their carreer.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I enjoyed Crimewave and Magic Spells from their previous album, so I will check this out.
| | | Album Rating: 4
wow, thanks for the kind words, everybody!
@Plutonio: hell no dude, love it! it's awesome! and if it makes you feel any better, it makes me feel weird when i'm all "yeah, you sure called that one pitchfork!" too.
@wizard: haha yeah, no shit... the album may as well be called "Ha Ha Your Mommy's Dead"
@2muchket! & butters... er, armyofrage: i'm glad that you liked the review despite not liking the album at least! what exactly rubbed you guys the wrong way?
@bailar: yeah, it's one of those "it was funny at the time" type things...
ghostechoes: dooo it
hehe and yeah, celestica is nauseatingly awesome :D
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I'm basically a carbon-copy of Pitchfork and I hate it.
I have had the same problem.
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