Crystal Castles III

The Heavily anticipated Crystal Castles (III) has arrived!! I sincerely hope they keep up the untitled albums, thus forever confusing people and boggling computer databases. By keeping their albums untitled, they force us to take in the whole album, not looking for a "title track" to be the pinnacle of their message, rather the sum is greater than the parts. This is Crystal Castles' most serious set of songs yet, with a darker tone and streamlined sound that dovetails with its motifs of outsiders, injustices, and revolution. Ethan Kath and Alice Glass' second album showed the duo was expanding their 8-bit vocabulary, and that comes to fruition here, particularly on the album-opener "Plague" and "Wrath of God," where Glass' distant rage and Kath's shadowy, claustrophobic synths invert their previously fiery electro-punk into something colder and more lingering. II standouts "Baptism" and "Not in Love" provide the template for some of III's best moments. Melody plays a bigger role on III than it did in Crystal Castles' earlier music; gone are the noisy moments from II that made me wanna jump around and pump my fist into the air. Instead, from Glass we get a more refined and nuanced singing to the beautifully ominous feel of "Mercenary" and especially "Child I Will Hurt You," which closes the album with a sparkling sadness. Artistic progress is as much about subtraction as it is about addition, and on III, Crystal Castles have made room to be sad, angry, pretty, and danceable at the same time. That's an unusual mix of emotions, and while it might be condescending to say that they've grown up, they've certainly outgrown many of the preconceptions about what their music can be. Watch and listen Plague (and other songs) live from the Reading Festival this summer. Cue the fog machine and seizure lights. Buy your copy of Crystal Castles (III) here FYI: the vinyl is not out yet and the release date is yet to be determined. Stay Tuned!!

Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

For a band to get better on their sophomore effort is a rarity, yet I declare that Tame Impala has successfully accomplished just that on Lonerism. Less guitar focused and more of a dive into the realm of pop music, this album sounds like what John Lennon would song like if he was a young man of today. Blending the familiar with the far out, Tame Impala channel a Revolver-esque psych-pop experience. This shift from the guitar-heavy sound of the debut to a more synthed-out approach gives the album a more expansive feeling, allowing for new textures through layer after layer of melody. As with Innerspeaker, sonic architect Dave Fridmann handles the mixing, and though he wasn't involved in the recording process, Lonerism definitely shares the producer's knack for using the space as an instrument in and of itself. This layering of not just sounds, but environments, creates a serene and lonely patchwork of sound, texture, and atmosphere that's a pleasure to explore, offering something different with every journey into its swirling haze of classic pop melody and modern, more experimental, construction. Please take a lovely listen to "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" (and no, this isn't a jab at the election, just a title coinkidink) here: Email marta@alternativemusic.com to inquire about purchasing Lonerism on CD or LP.