Review: Crystal Castles make morbid sound

When playing live, Crystal Castles opened up a deep divide between their audience and themselves, allowing those at the concert to feel like they were abandoned. Their newest album (III) creates the same atmosphere for the listener, utilizing Alice Glass’ voice not only as a medium of ideas, but also as a weapon, stabbing her screams home.

Like a ghost’s pained scream, the song “Wrath of God” rips through any preconceived notion that the band’s 8-bit terror is chaotic, but is instead a powerful leap forward into the realm of verse-chorus-verse.

When Glass jumped into the audience at their performance at the Isle of Wight during “Plague,” the intention of their new album became clear. Gone was the Crystal Castles of the past where hectic swirls of seemingly coincidental electronica were mashed together by what sounded like sheer luck. As they progress through albums (I), (II) and now (III), their sound became more unified, as exemplified by the bone-gnawingly chilling “Pale Flesh.” Underscored by a clear strong beat, the blackboard scratching sound creates an ambiance that unsettles, like walking through a haunted house while the ghosts trapped in the walls are scratching their way out to nab the intruder: the listener.

Other band member Ethan Kath and Glass have made it clear through their live performance that they were making a point, a point that drilled through the heads of the audience and clawed its way through their grey matter. While the dark, heroin influenced sounds are still present in (III), the sound itself is streamlined. “I’ll protect you from all the things I’ve seen,” sighs Glass.

For the past two albums, Crystal Castles has been exposing their listeners to the black alleys of their native Toronto where needles litter the floor; now they’re covering their eyes, like trying to protect a newborn from seeing the danger that’s approaching, but despite all that, the danger still is there, dragging its carcass to the listeners’ tragedy.