Crystal Antlers - Two Way Mirror

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5...according to our Mike on Thu 21 Jul, 2011.

Hey, remember Crystal Antlers? A couple of years ago they were touted as the hot new thing when their debut album Tentacles came out on Touch & Go. It was quite a record, too; all in-your-face indie pop with stabbing organs and massive tunes. I still spin that, and it's nice to see that with this new one they've not only kept hold of the elements that made that record such a good listen but they've matured and refined their sound into something even more irresistible than before. It's not as abrasive as the first record and maybe not quite as immediate, but this is an album packed with ideas and subtlety without losing that ever-present and all-important sense of fun and love for what they're doing. Sadly they've now parted ways with Touch & Go (not that I was ever totally convinced they and that label were an appropriate match), but they've found a new home at Recreation Ltd, and they've got the legendary Raymond Pettibon to design the art for this, too. There's a lot of elements here - punk, no-wave, surf, '60s pop - but it's always tightly focused and it never sounds like a mishmash...hey, remember the Detachment Kit, and how their first album hit really hard but it was the second one, the less immediate 'Of This Blood', which over time emerged as the superior album? This is Crystal Antlers' 'Of This Blood'. It's the sound of a band finding their potential, and whether or not it's recognised right now I think a few years down the line you'll be able to listen to this album and think, "Hey, remember Crystal Antlers? Those guys were the shit." In fact I'm gonna buy one of the super-limited versions for myself while I still can. Yeah boiiiii!!

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In early 2010, following the release of their first full-length album and the completion of nine US and European tours, Crystal Antlers finally settled down in the small Mexican farming town of La Punta Banda-it was there that the bulk of what would become Two-Way Mirror was born. After the drastic downsizing of their label, the legendary Touch and Go Records, the band was ready to take a moment and begin to bridge the gap into new territory. Beginning with their first two self-releases - Tapes Volume #1 Tentacles Era and Little Sister/Dead Horses 7-inch single - following their break with TG, the band began exploring new pathways and genres, touching on elements of avant-garde pop, surf rock, 1970's folk, and grunge. Combined with their constantly evolving experimental, punk, noise & psychedelia, and addition/influence length is a sound uniquely their own. The band began recording Two-Way Mirror in September 2010 at the Compound studio in their hometown of Long Beach, California. Returning behind the mixing board were producer Ikey Owens and engineers Athony Arvizu & Jeff Lewis-the recording team behind Crystal Antlers seminal debut, EP. The production of Two-Way Mirror encompasses an enormous spectrum of sonic textures dynamically flowing from song to song with all of the intensity the band has come to be known for. Songs like "Summer Solstice" and "Fortune Telling" display a sense of depth and clarity only scarcely seen before from the band, while the songs "Sun-Bleached," "Way Out," and "Knee Deep" are an intimate look into the world of Crystal Antlers home recordings. Acclaimed producer/mixer Jack Endino, (known for his work with Nirvana, Mudhoney etc) presided over mixing duties and finally, influential punk artist Raymond Pettibon over album art. Two-Way Mirror is truly the most defiant & ambitious work yet from Crystal Antlers, reaching far beyond even their own boundaries of sound & classification. We have 70 clear vinyl w/ handsilkscreened covers with artwork by Raymond Pettibon. The actual screening of the covers was done by the street artist Skullphone. These are exclusively for UK indie stores. There is also a black vinyl LP version too.

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