crystal castles - crystal castles

Recent years have seen the proliferation of electronic music with infinite sub-genres delineated and hyper-categorization that confuses even the most informed electro fan. In many instances, it’s not worth the time to develop an interest in any band because in a few weeks, they’ll soon be eclipsed by another wave of music, offering slightly varying aesthetics, but ultimately indecipherable from its electro-dance peers. Crystal Castles’ latest self-titled release would get lost in the endless sea of dance music where it not for two things: their frenetic use of arcade-like noise and the occasionally dark, punk roots underscoring their otherwise carefree aesthetic.
All the tracks—even those with little resemblance to dance music—are linked to one another by their heavy use of digital Nintendo beats. “Alice Practice” opens with plinking electronic noises while electronic squalls and abrupt vocal institute violence on the listener, while the song’s fuzzed out backdrop sounds like turned up ambient noise from an arcade. “Air wars” layers unintelligible lyrics over dance beats in a way that suggests the multi-dimensional audio activity of a night at the club. The song is perhaps the most smartly layered and well-constructed track on the album. “XxcxuzMe” sounds like a video game on the fritz, all its audio components violently clashing in perfect cacophony. Though “Crimewave,--“ a remix of a song originally by LA noise band Health—boasts some gimmicky qualities like robotofication of vocals and pseudo dj techniques, it’s also one of the group’s most organically danceable tracks.
Crystal Castle’s approach is exciting for its innovation, but the band has a long way to go before they achieve a fluid sound. With too many competing sonics and frequently abrasive unmelodic vocals a lot of the punk-inspired songs lack any kind of melody or hook to ground the listener. And some of the more traditional dance tracks, like, “Vanished” and “Knights,” are great dance tracks but ultimately unorginal. With a debut album of sixteen songs, it’s hard to maintain solidity throughout. Hopefully Crystal Castles can sharpen their focus and build on the more innovative and distinctive elements of their sound because without them, they’re just another face in an endless crowd of electro-dance fodder.