952 Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (2008)

 952 Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (2008)

Compilation album - Electronic



About the Act:

Crystal Castles are a Canadian electronic band, who have been active since 2006. They are Ethan Kath (music) and Alice Glass (Lyrics and singing) later replaced by Edith Frances. They also have a drummer, actually have had several different drummers. They are a kind of noise/dance outfit, with some of the sounds being created by an Atari 5200 console which has been "circuit bended" - having non-standard connections made.  Wikipedia describes them as "Electropunk, electroclash, synth-pop, witch house, Nintendocore".


About the Album:

This first album by Crystal Castles is a collection of singles they released, with three original recordings added. At this point they were just Ethan Kath and Alice Glass.


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

Well it's a bit of a relief to get out of Country country, To me, this sounds like "chiptune" music inspired by the 8-bit music of early games consoles. Apparently that was not the intent of the band, but it has an undeniable retro feel to it, using 80s/90s electronic sounds, with occasional distorted or otherwise highly processed vocals.  I'm not sure if any of the "songs" are about anything. Sound-wise it is slightly unusual. Music-wise it's nothing new or interesting. Alice Glass's vocals at time sound like punk vocal stylings. If you really like electronic music of a dancy type you might go for this. I found it OK, but a bit underwhelming.


6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3LnVvIeiLCngvwEnbdxwCT

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ7cPtBXj9OsexIEVKRjXAQU77CPMPOWF

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Castles_(album)


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