A Belated Review for Crystal Castles (II)

After great success with their first eponymous album, Crystal Castles have become an entity separated entirely from other modern electronic-thrash artists through efficient use of 8-bit technology and raw production techniques. Back in April of this year, I was informed that digital copies of their new album had become available and I jumped at the chance. After fifty minutes of listening however, I was disappointed to find myself feeling strangely empty.



Despite the usual Lo-Fi chaos that I personally see as the essence of the Ontario duo, the album is, in many ways, not as compelling as the first. There is undoubtedly less screaming, which I felt to be the first release’s downfall, but the album’s successes are far outweighed by an apparent lack of creativity in all other facets; the riffs, lyrics, beats and even the production seem to missing something. To put it more clearly, it seems as though the beloved duo are trying too hard to fit the expectations of listeners. In this they have lost the touch of simplicity that is the essence of true 8-bit thrash.

This is not to imply that the album isn’t at all worth listening to. In fact I would certainly recommend it to somebody looking for a wholesome electronica experience. Crystal Castles (II) is undoubtedly a record that can be enjoyed for its variety. That is to say (and this may seem completely out of place among the comments above), the duo have achieved a state in music that The Velvet Underground & Nico reached some forty odd years ago; the album is noisy, sloppy and at times belligerent, but it somehow still maintains the power to send the listener into a drool filled stupor with its dreaminess.
So not all bad I suppose. Maybe I was nit picking before. Who cares? I just came to thrash.

Sleigh Bells First LP Blows my Face off Twice

(This is a good Thing)

Last year the first traces of the face melting, bone shaking noise-pop project that is Sleigh Bells found their way onto the Internet and immediately gained a following. With the digital release of their first full-length: “Treats”, the music world just got a notch louder. After listening to the album, I am fairly certain that the band stole their amps from Spinal Tap; near every song has at least a minute of flinch-inspiring volume that forces the listener to wonder how in God’s name they finished recording without destroying their equipment.


The truly unique aspect of Sleigh Bells’ music however is not their extreme threshold testing, but rather the perfect contrast that is created between Alexis Krauss’ sugary (and for the most part calm) voice and Derek Miller’s violent distortion. The sound certainly bares comparison to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with the female lead vocal reigning supreme as pandemonium ensues
around them.

With opening positions for Yeasayer and Major Lazer helping put their name on the radar of thousands, this band should become one of the more renowned bands for 2010. Though I have yet to experience the duo live, I have read that the floor shakes from start to finish. This, I can only assume, is an accurate depiction. After all, it’s not hard to imagine the opposite-of-tender sounds that make up “Crown on the Ground,” “Straight A’s” and “Kids” scoring points on the Richter scale.

For me, “Treats” leaves every other 2010 album thus far dead in the water. This is a true example of auditory perfection: Chaos and harmony both play their respective parts in making Sleigh Bells’ “Treats” one of the most unique and enjoyable albums I have ever heard.