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The second Crystal Castles may not be as immediately and consistently satisfying as their debut, but it shows that the band has more to offer than just an immediately distinctive--and confining--sound.
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As rewarding as this new album is, it's even more impressive when you consider its context: Crystal Castles may have come on at the tail-end of the blog-house/nu-rave/French-touch mini-rage, but they've now transcended it, moving from scene linchpin to indie stars.
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They’ve made a bigger, denser, more accessible record but in so doing, have not lost sight of their strengths—rather, those strengths now shine through even more clearly.
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It’s a late resolution; like their debut, Crystal Castles feels long; not too long for comfort but too long for coherence.
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Fortunately the lack of ambition displayed during the album-naming sessions doesn't correspond to this work's contents. It's a bold, dramatic, more than a little screwed-up and stunningly exciting statement.
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Two years later, our Canadian antiheroes return with something deeper than digital histrionics and crazily infectious beats.
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The relative calming of Crystal Castles’ seas on CC 2, while maintaining the duo’s penchant for unsettling zombie vocals and harsh static beats, ultimately makes for a more immersive listen.
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The superior but occasionally milquetoast Crystal Castles: Book Two inadvertently underscores the pitfalls of maturity and liberation.
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Obstinate, prickly, and elusive as ever, Crystal Castles seem poised for more of the reckless aggression they've become known for.
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The group's bleak, sinister quality has always been one of its best assets, and in humanizing themselves, even in the record's shinier latter half, the musicians take on a slightly stronger shadow.
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Mr. Kath imbues the album with a touch of continuity--surely not the easiest task, given tracks like “Doe Deer,” a corrosive blast of mania, and “Fainting Spells,” which declares its own intended side effect.
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Still, it’s a largely terrific return that retains all of the weirdness and edge of their debut but allows the tunes to win through at the expense of unnecessary glitch and red-raw distortion.
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So until the radio stations get it right..make of the wicked what you will. Ferocity will never feel so fuzzy, nor fear so inviting. [Spring/Summer 2010, p.104]
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They haven’t wholly lost their antagonism--the brutal “Doe Deer” is arabesque computer punk. But the second round of “Crystal Castles” pulls an even better trick than the first one: It proves the band can upend expectations and turn in a long career yet.
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It’s a strong, deliberate album that is both unsettling and riveting, and absolutely convincing in asserting Crystal Castles’ relevance, and talent.
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Having put aside the gimmicky Atari-melting antics of yore, the Castles have created a dense-yet-airy thicket of pure pop transcendence.
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Two years and an overabundance of hype later, producer Ethan Kath and singer Alice Glass return with another self-titled set that corrects all of their debut's miscues and remains eye-popping from beginning to end.
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The sequel is a graceful transition into more polished product with an emphasis on detail and melody-all while retaining the visceral screech of the debut.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 130 out of 140
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Mixed: 3 out of 140
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Negative: 7 out of 140
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Dec 28, 2011smoke weed everyday
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Dec 22, 2011
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Oct 3, 2012