Crystal Castles - self-titled

Last Gang Records 2008

9/10

Best Track: "Black Panther"

Worst Track: "Good Time"

Crystal Castles was a 1983 arcade game by Atari. The object of the game was to collect these gems in a somewhat 3D (it’s Atari) environment consisting of various, you called it, castles. The game might have been popular in the 80s, but it has been long forgotten until a Toronto-based duo band took on their name and pioneered some of the most original electro-house music out today.

Crystal Castles is a new and upcoming band that takes the dance beats of modern marvels like Hot Chip and Klaxons and throws them head-first into a wall of retrogaming sounds attributed to Atari and Nintendo. The way they do this is actually pretty interesting. They place an Atari 5200 sound chip inside one of their keyboards in order to produce the trippiest glitching sound-byte beats ever heard. Surprisingly, it sounds extremely catchy and danceable.

Of course, anyone can make lukewarm songs with a glitchy keyboard; however, Crystal Castles showcase their dance prowess by sampling Death From Above 1979’s track “Dead Womb,” and turning it into an aura of synth and no-wave that any skeptic would find energetic and well-remixed.

Their self-titled album juggles with many influences throughout its playtime. “XXZXCUZX Me” illustrates their tenacity to purge their emotions into an aggressive rollercoaster of intertwined scales mixed with a devastating beat guaranteed to make listeners stomp their feet to the fast paced and driving drums. They quickly shift gears into a smooth but ever-increasingly industrious “Courtship Date” that eerily sounds like a timberland song roughened by the abrasive byte clips emanated from their keyboard.

Unarguably, the best track on the album is “Black Panther.” Although singer Alice Glass’s voice is hardly distinguishable in the wave of in-your-face drumbeats coupled with harmonizing electronic sound bytes, her voice carries a sense of urgency that’s rather majestic.

Crystal Castles’ debut is a testament to their brilliant mixing talent. They manage to craft entire songs out of simple sound bytes, which reveals originality unheard of in their genre.

- Michael Ghassibi

Crystal Castles - Black Panther

Here's a bonus track:

Klaxons - Atlantis to Interzone (Crystal Castles remix)