The Consequence of Being Crystal
by Mario R. Martin
Posted: Apr 2013
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- photo by Photo courtesy of High Rise PR
The third installment in the Crystal Castles legacy was released in late 2012, just in time to become the soundtrack for the demise of music, as we know it.
The technologist, Ethan Kath, and the voice, Alice Glass, are modern day poster children for a lost art, and a lost sound, if you will. Together, Kath and Glass are probably the most crucial and necessary to music as we know it, because their music is original; it’s dark, and without it, we’re left with the cutting room floor. You might recognize that cutting room floor, littered with the manufactured careers of American Idol contestants, the YouTube haves and have-nots and the idiocy of reality television. Modern America is ravaged with the repugnant sounds of auto-tune and fabricated emotion, sung by pre-teens and the talentless—far beyond their prime. In a world so bleak and cold, the soundtrack, provided by Crystal Castles, can be heard as an anthem of post-apocalyptic hope.
There is a struggle at play. Crystal Castles is a savior sound amongst the ill. There is a tender aggression within Glass’ voice. A fear and thankfulness that exists in their goth origins creates the most beautiful juxtaposition. The synthesized reality heard on III (Casablanca/Republic Records/Fiction) could easily be stripped and utilized by others, but without the panache. Despite the crisp sound that filters through the speakers, whether it’s the hard bass on “Pale Flesh” or the Angelo Badalamenti-esque intro of “Plague,” Kath approached the record more simply, still. “We’d limit ourselves to one take on each song because we believe the first take is the rawest expression of an idea.” The ethic produced makes for honest listening that is spared any over-production.
III is an instant anthem while a retail war rages on. The cohesive darkness that Crystal Castles creates is special. It is the antidote for the unlistenable. The unthinkable. It’s the weapon of choice for the disenfranchised, the souls suffering the ills of a war they were forced to fight. “It feels like the world is a dystopia where victims don’t get justice and corruption prevails,” says Glass. The injustice the duo feel is fuel for their songwriting, a message to the despondent, that is strength in numbers and choice exists to fight the machine.
Catch Crystal Castles on this leg of their headlining tour at Turner Hall Ballroom on Monday, May 6, 2013. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Additionally, catch Crystal Castles as they support Depeche Mode on their “Delta Machine Tour” in late summer/fall.