Review Summary: This is your baptism. And you can't forgive them.
Everyone loves a good mystery, that frightening suspense of the unknown, the terrifying thought that your best friend may not be the person you thought they were. Mysteries combine shock and thrill to push the audience and characters alike to the brink of madness. Take the novel, “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie for example. The book stands as the seventh most popular book of all time and easily the most popular mystery novel, for good reason. The book tells the story of ten people brought to huge mansion nestled on a remote island, all ten are complete strangers but all begin to meet to suspicious deaths on the island within a single night, and with each death one of the ten little Native American dolls in the dining hall vanish. The perpetrator of the murders is kept secret until the very end in a bizarre twist that leaves the readers mind in a warp of shock and awe; it is this kind of mystery that the Canadian electronic band, Crystal Castles uses to its highest potential. After many leaked demos featuring the fast and rhythmic beats of Ethan Kath and the screaming vocals of the ever-so edgy Alice Glass, the band finally released their debut album in 2008. Though extremely successful, the duo faced many legal troubles in their use of samples and a peculiar picture of Madonna with a black eye that was intended to be the albums cover. The battle over all the samples was settled with no charges made, but the infamous Madonna picture had to be put away or at least until a few years later when they did in fact buy the rights to the image to be used on their t-shirts.
Then the mystery began….
Shortly after the debut album was released, the band went on a short world tour, after which the duo totally and completely vanished from the public eye. No Myspace updates, no interviews, no shows, nothing. The fans, while still loyal, were left a little confused unknowing of if the band was finished forever or just on break. The anticipation was building greater as the months flew buy. It was not until December of 2009 when they returned with news of a second album, though no further information was released. Then in April of 2010, more wonderful news came of a limited release EP featuring a new song titled “Doe Deer.” Just days after the EP was released though, curiosity struck the hardcore fans of Crystal Castles and the entire second album leaked online. This leak caused the band to push the album forward from its June release date to a mid-May release. Thus the birth of
Crystal Castles [II], their second self-titled album.
The album opens up with “Fainting Spells,” a song that is an obvious correlation with “Magic Spells” of the previous album. The song is quite similar to the Crystal Castles that we heard on the previous album, just a bit more produced sounding and generally enhanced mechanically. Through all the screeching noises and shouts of Alice Glass on this song something indescribably appealing comes out of the song because although its noisy, there is a strange sentimental vibe behind it all. This sentiment comes out even more in the following track, “Celestica.” This track is a major wake up-slap to Crystal Castles fans as it is actually Alice singing, yes singing, not screaming or shouting, not growling or screeching, singing. Over the mellow trance-like beat her voice slides like silk through the words of a very dark but lovely writer, “When the splints have been broken/And they can't help you now/Do you pray with your eyes closed naturally?” Who is this band set before us now? It is the same old Crystal Castles, but evolved in so many beautiful ways. We know the old thrashy sounds of the band could not be entirely lost when the song “Doe Deer” comes on. The song stands at only one and a half minutes, but that short time delivers one hell of a punch. Its rapid beat is and epileptic’s nightmare and the squealing vocals of Glass shouting, “deathray! deathray! deathray!” is a great fun endeavor into familiar territory.
The track “Baptism” also follows this familiar pattern with its dance-floor worthy beat similar to that of “Courtship Dating” of the previous album. The albums most drastic change follows immediately after “Baptism” though with the track “Year of Silence,” a song in which all the vocals are taken as a sample from the Sigur Ros song, “Inn* mér syngur vitleysingur (Within Me A Lunatic Sings).” The gorgeous Icelandic lyrics of Sigur Ros works surprisingly well over the mid-tempo electronic beat. The lyrics are placed over lapping each other acting more as additional sound effects rather than vocals, but still retaining the classic beauty that Sigur Ros is known for, just meshed with the creativity of Crystal Castles. The midsection of the album, consisting of the tracks “Empathy,” “Suffocation,” and “Violent Dreams” all take a different approach in terms of tone and use a more dreamy rhythm. The only unfortunate side though is that the latter two of those tracks sound undoubtedly similar, and being that the two are both four minutes and longer they can tend to drag together into an eight minute dream-state. This little mishap gives a unnecessary disruption in the albums flow that could have been solved easily by the removal of the track, “Suffocation” (easily the most boring of the two).
Do not think all hope is lost though as the ending half of the album is just as amazing as the first, particularly the song “Vietnam.” Being the longest song on the album (five minutes), this song has a lot to live up to as no one wants to be utterly bored for five whole minutes, thankfully Kath and Glass do not let us down. In fact the rhythmic stuttering on “Vietnam” is easily one of the best songs of the album, or even the bands entire catalogue being nothing short of a total mind-***. Sadly the album gently drifts off to a close soon after with the incredibly strange, “I Am Made of Chalk” consisting of weird gargling noises of some strange alien creature.
It is sad to see such a unique album come to a close, much like reading the final chapter a mystery novel. You’re at the end, you know how the story goes, and the killer has been relieved. Does learning this information detract from the enjoyment of the story a second time around? Most certainly not, a great mystery is one that keeps you enticed even after the killer is reviled, time and time again you should be able to return to the mystery with the same amount of suspense as the first time you read it. The same could be said for
Crystal Castles [II], you know how the album goes, you’ve heard it all before, but music like this is timeless. This is not a summer album or a winter album or a fall album or a spring album, the powerhouse of emotion and fun on this album is fitting for anytime, day or night. You may read this and think “oh what a silly exaggeration!” but no, this album touches so many emotions on a level so severe it is practically rape.
And I liked it.
"Ten little Soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Soldier boys traveling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Soldier boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Soldier boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Soldier boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two Little Soldier boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Soldier boy left all alone;
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."
