Moroni's Review of Crystal Castles' "(III)"

Before the summer of 2011, I wanted some new electronic dance music before I went out deejaying on the fair circuit.  I wrote a friend in Chicago and asked for music suggestions.  She referred me to Skrillex, and to a couple of songs by Crystal Castles.  One was their remix of "Lovers Who Uncover" by the Little Ones, and another was the single "Not In Love" off their second album which featured vocals by Robert Smith of the Cure.  Pretty soon, my deejaying that particular summer became all about dubstep.  But Crystal Castles remained in my mix all summer.  In fact, in addition to those two songs, I added "Untrust Us" and "Black Panther" off of their first album.  And this was because their sound is so infectious and original. I played this music to thousands of people all across Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana (thanks to my friend from Chicago).

Their third studio album (III) continues their unique sound.  It is like a wash of unfiltered, raw sound that cascades over you in a wind of metallic chaff.  Like Purity Ring (whom I just reviewed here), they have a very unusual, staggered concept of rhythm.  Unlike Purity Ring, vocalist Alice Glass's vocals are not clear and are more often than not run through digital processors to give them a mewling, robotic sound that is more part of the music than designed to convey a message.  I am not saying that there is no message; I just can't hear it over the wall of sound.  Sometimes it sounds like she is singing with the aid of a helium balloon.

Often their music is cacaphonous, chaotic, and shrill, like in their songs "Pale Flesh", "Insulin", and "Mercenary".  But I think that is intentional.  On several songs, the tidal wave of noise sweeps you along and leaves you feeling head over heels in love, like in the songs "Plague", "Kerosene",
Wrath of God", "Sad Eyes", "Transgender", and "Violent Youth".  My favorite song is "Affection" - a song that is deliciously nostalgic.

All in all, this is a pretty good album, and it re-establishes the high opinion I already had of this band.