Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (2nd album)

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4...according to our Business Lady on Thu 20 May, 2010.

Another group who owe a little of their success to the potency of 8-bit sound processing, Crystal Castles return with a second self-titled LP (who does that?) on Fiction. Seen as one of the great independent success stories in recent memory, it's pleasing to see the return of the notoriously anti-social, anti-media duo. It's pretty much business as usual for these two, though their dependency on C64 tones and screams as their primary musicals tools is now overshadowed by more consistent, dance orientated tracks and a cleverer use of sound. Alice Glass's vocals are still totally screamy and brutal in places but that doesn't stop her tackling beautiful melodic vocal lines when it's called for, as on 'Celestica'. Elsewhere I hear a slight mellowing of their overall approach but this only aids the new material and presents them in a slightly more club-friendly, people-pleasing proposition. All sorts going on here...a total treat.

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Crystal Castles have sold over 200,000 copies of their uncompromising, independently-released debut album, which NME included in their "50 Best Albums of the Decade". The antisocial duo of Ethan Kath and Alice Glass have created an unexpected level of excitement and cult loyalty, clocking up a staggering 50 million plays on MySpace and Lastfm and headlining sold out tours around the world. Produced by Ethan Kath, tracks were recorded and written in contrasting environments around the world, including a church in Iceland, a self-built cabin in Ontario, and a garage behind an abandoned convenience store in Detroit.

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