This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.
Crystal Castles, also known as Crystal Castles (I) or (I), is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles; at the time of its release, the group consisted of producer Ethan Kath and singer Alice Glass. The two met each other in 2004 and both had an interest in noise acts like AIDS Wolf & The Sick Lipstick. This inspired the two to start a noise music project, but instead of guitars, they would use electronic sounds made with a circuit-bent Atari 5200–which effectively led to the media pigeonholing the act as chiptune, despite the fact that the members themselves didn't deliberately intend this. Despite being labeled as the group's debut album, Crystal Castles is a compilation of singles that popularized the duo internationally, as well as unreleased demos recorded in 2004 along with two new songs: "Courtship Dating", and "Tell Me What to Swallow". The content on the LP includes samples of tracks from acts such as Death from Above 1979, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Luciano Berio, Drinking Electricity, and Van She. Some professional music journalists highlighted its random and unpredictable nature as well as its unique style and sound. Crystal Castles was released on March 18, 2008, by Lies Records and Last Gang Records, and performed well commercially in the United States, allowing it to make its way onto Billboard charts such as Independent Albums, Top Dance/Electronic Albums, and Top Heatseekers. It also charted in Australia, France, Ireland, Scotland and the United Kingdom. Many professional critics had complimentary opinions towards the album, with the writer for Delusions of Adequacy calling it "one of the best electronic albums of the year". The record ranked in the top 20 on numerous year-end lists by publications such as Pitchfork, NME, and PopMatters and landed on lists of the best albums of the 2000s by NME and Complex. In 2013, Crystal Castles was placed at number 477 on NME's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
I can't take much more of this list. Really, I can't. It's been like 4 years. And then I get 'Canadian electronica' - whatever that is. Oh well. Just one more... And then it's just amazing. Thanks for a great recommendation. The quest continues!
If it sounds like you've been immersed into the weird world of video game noises, that's because you have been.
Another classic that should have been included from the start! I am more partial to their second record, but this one has all the hits
Some fun beeps and boops and some fever dreams
Oooh, another Canadian snowboard season classic. Had an absolute blast listening to this one whilst riding my bike round the city Great selection, thank you.
Neglected listening to this one for quite some time, mainly to my detriment – this LP is such a fun, singular recollection of an indie electro-pop era that's long gone. While certainly colored by nostalgia, in my eyes the short period between 2006-2010 produced some of the best indie and electronic heard since as synths and electronic production became more accessible to bedroom producers. There's a charming sense of roughness around the edges of this LP to boot, and when coupled with a clear sense of experimentation and joy from the group's performances the whole thing just feels so genuine and human. It's clear actual people made this record, and it's a far cry from how austere and produced modern electronica or indie usually sounds.
Didn't get a lot out of these gothy diva vocals over what felt like fairly run of the mill chiptunes. The gross Me Too conclusion of the band's tale didn't help. Slightly more interesting than average still.
This album is a great albums when it comes to classic electronic beeps. Too bad it has these noise tracks that are ok, but not that great with a production that makes these sound a bit hollow.
Seemed light it might be fun but I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. Given the icky history of the band that might be just as well.
Hey! More Canadia representation! Not Montreal, admittedly, but still definitely from Canadia. I do love me some chiptune from time to time, and despite being adamant that "they hate videogames" and this "not being chiptune" - sorry, eh, but you named yourself after a classic videogame and used Atari hardware to create a bunch of 8-bit sounds. I guess you're making chiptune eh? This is a decent collection of aggressively electronic music, and I'm glad I've heard it.
Rating: 10/10
Some great songs, but quite a challenge to run through the album in one go.
I listened to this some time ago because the group shared the name with an odd Atari game from the 80s that I liked. The 8-bit sounds seemed very appropriate. Not sure it is a daily listen but I enjoyed it.
This ended up being pretty eclectic and I think overall it was a net positive album. Stinkers here and there but quite a few good songs too, especially the ones that went into synth or shoegaze type stuff.
Bleep bloop. Bleep bloop. BLEEP BLOOP. The bleepest of bloops. Pretty good stuff. Sucks the guy is an absolute piece of shit. My personal rating: 4/5 My rating relative to the list: 4/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Slight no.
Suprised this isn't on the main list. Stories of domineering and manipulative behavior but I choose to listen to the music. And the music I like. It's like Japanese influenced videogame music (also a bit like Xiu Xiu). Interesting listen.
Sounds like playing Nintendo & I love Nintendo so this is a good time.
Synthpop of the adolescent internet age. The rise of social networks and the ease at which the mp3 could be shared allowed for new underground artists to emerge. This is especially true for the electronica genre, which saw cracked versions of FL studio and circuit-bent electronics being used to craft the new sound of blogging millennials. To this end, Crystal Castles is haunted, tripped-out world of bloopy synths over crunchy beats that redefines what pop music can be. Do not be fooled, this is still pop music at it's core; defining moments on this album are riddled with danceable beats and sweet hooks. The caveat is that it's all drenched in unconventional production. Begone, overly polished and perfect production! Crystal Castles champions dissonance, grime, and *gasp* Noise!!!! What a treat. You never really know what this album will turn up next. It's bold and brash while still maintaining a root in rhythms that make you want to move. Unyielding in all the best ways, I found myself enamored for the entire runtime. I would be remiss not to mention the dark cloud that looms over this duo's legacy: singer-songwriter of the group Alice Glass came forward in 2017 to reveal the abuse that Ethan Kath had subject her to. This ultimately culminated in a Sex Crimes investigation carried out by the Toronto Police, though I couldn't find any sources that confirmed how that resolved. Either way, it's a case where one would need to mentally divorce the music from the musicians in order to fully enjoy the piece. I would still recommend giving it a full listen, but the circumstances surrounding this album are something that leaves a bitter taste. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: 100% yes. The broader landscape of underground music owes more than you know to this album.
Blippy, quirky, fun. This really should have been shorter though. Fave Songs: Vanished, 1991, Crimewave, Knights, Reckless, Magic Spells, Untrust Us
Vacillates between amazing/tons of fun and kind of a cloying 8-bit soundtrack parody.
Hmmm, good to begin with, the novelty soon wears off 2.8
Sweet as
10 gecs. It's fine.
If Vangelis smoked some crystal meth and then tried to soundtrack The Legend of Zelda movie while playing the game with Moby, then you might get this album. I didn’t hate it but I’ve got to subtract a star for the same old sorry story of men behaving badly towards younger women that broke up the band. I think Alice Glass would be alright with the penalty.
Very nice techno beat
2 Interesting But sometimes unbearable 3 2
Very 90's game-music. It was fine as background music, but not more than that 2m
This looks stupid. I bet it sounds stupid. Oh yeah it sounds stupid. It has the occasional cool vibe but also a heap of stupid noise. 1991 is a fun tune though. 2/5.
Synth-punk, chiptune, noise, indie electronic. No me ha gustado. Un 2.
This was a bit too something and I was glad when it was over.
Just sounds like angry computer game music to me.
This is like being committed to a mental hospital because you say you can time travel and just replay noises from the 80s. Not sure how someone could go a whole hour into this. It was a nostalgic wave of a bad trip on acid. Game over. 1.7/10