Crystal Stilts - Shake The Shackles

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5...according to our Brian on Thu 28 Oct, 2010.

Dunno how this band manage to sound So. Bloody. Amazing. They've taken their time over the past couple of years to write some more songs that are just gonna crawl right under your skin and party like the ones did on their debut. Except, if this single's owt to go by, they're gonna party even harder till dawn and beyond. And then some! What i'm trying to convey here is that in CS world, only the most spine-tingling rattly, jangling guitar rush will do. Only the most propulsive, chuffing drum rhythm will suffice. The bass must sound like it's been stolen from the dusty archives of the Field Mice's best-ever songs and the singer must sound like he's hollering sadly from down a dusty, haunted corridor. This band sound so classic, so timeless & write gorgeous, spindly vintage indie rock that puts just about every other C86 rifling plagiarist crew to shame. Because with tunes this good you could possibly consider forgetting about those jangly halcyon days and just get with the times. The more mid-paced flip 'Magnetic Moon' is built from the band's favoured template of ghostly 60s-inflected garage rock with that whirring hammond style organ & a thick, spooky atmosphere mixed with a Paisley Underground/NZ vibe like those Mantles types. It's really, really bloody good. SOTW anyone?

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Crystal Stilts burst out of Brooklyn’s post-punk indie scene in 2008 with a string of releases that culminated in their fantastic debut album Alight of Night. Deftly combining the spooked ’60s Texas psych of 13th Floor Elevators and Red Crayola, the gothic blues / punk howl of Gun Club, the dark, experimental DIY of early Flying Nun / Xpressway groups and a dash of classic ’60s pop by way of early Mary Chain B-sides, Alight of Night won universal accolades and established the band as first-class purveyors of haunting, atmospheric post-punk pop. Spring 2009 saw them follow-up with the excellent 7-inch single “Love Is a Wave,” a live favorite that was backed with the twangy “Sugar Baby.” The band toured the US and Europe, releasing Alight of Night in the UK to yet more accolades. All the while they were writing more tunes, experimenting with new sounds and planning their next moves. “Shake the Shackles” is Crystal Stilts’ first release since “Love Is a Wave,” a great snapshot of where the band is now and a taster for their forthcoming album, due early 2011. Driven by echoed guitar strum and droning keys, their dexterous update of ’60s garage-pop places them alongside late-’80s Paisley Underground heroes like Green on Red and later Dream Syndicate—but the song itself is totally timeless and impossible to place anywhere but firmly in Crystal Stilts’ own unique style. On the flip, they go darker with the twilight swing of “Magnetic Moon,” a bluesy chug that comes on like some lost swamp-pop classic, all echo, guitar twang and simple tom ’n’ tambourine beat. Great stuff, and exclusive to this single.

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