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UncutAug 3, 2011If corralling the chaos is their new MO, they made a smart move. [Aug 2011, p.81]
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Aug 2, 2011One immediately clear difference between Two Way Mirror and previous Crystal Antlers work is the fact the band, led by vocalist and bass player Jonny Bell, have improved immeasurably as musicians.
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Jul 19, 2011Mirror's six-and-a-half-minute closer and a major highlight here, could moonlight as a Rolling Stones B-side from the late '70s. Fear not. Have a look.
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Jul 21, 2011As a whole, the sophomore album is inconsistent, but when being eccentric is such a large part of a group's appeal, this is to be expected. Notwithstanding a few weak moments, many tracks are potentially their best.
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Jul 12, 2011All in all, Two-Way Mirror is a good but flawed album, with plenty of things to excite, but a few things that can disappoint.
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Jul 11, 2011All in all, a weird brew, set to confound anyone who likes their music to fit neatly in a box.
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Jul 11, 2011In addition to being a strong return to form, Two-Way Mirror gives Crystal Antlers some much needed momentum after an unfortunate run of bad timing and bad luck.
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Jul 19, 2011Two-Way Mirror produces a handsome cacophony as is, but cutting away some of the gunk would have made it sweeter.
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MojoDec 12, 2011The sound's good and getting better - a wig-out of surf rock, Stooges-style punk and hardcore thrash, with the occasional Bambi noise of 1960's folk peeping round a tree. [Aug. 2011, p. 106]
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Q MagazineAug 16, 2011West Coast eccentrics' second ambitious offering. [Sept. 2011, p. 104]
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Jul 21, 2011Considering all the trials and tribulations, Crystal Antlers can definitely look themselves in the, um, mirror with Two-Way Mirror and feel good about where they are and where they're still headed.
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Jul 19, 2011Parts of Two-Way Mirror give me hope for the future, but their seeming inability to hammer out a concrete songwriting method makes me doubt they'll figure it out anytime soon.
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Jul 14, 2011Crystal Antlers have delivered a record that, rather than making good on the promise of their early work, is simply serviceable. But there's evidence here of a band still finding their feet and defining their sound.
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Jul 13, 2011There may come a time when Crystal Antlers' potential coalesces into a great album, and will be greeted with true accolades, rather than a better-luck-next-time send off--unfortunately for us all, Two-Way Mirror is still pre-natal.
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Jul 11, 2011Too often on the Antlers' second full-length, their washed-out melodies suggest powerfully memorable hooks that never fully materialize or cohere.
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Jul 12, 2011After a decade of excellence from like-minded groups such as Liars and TV On The Radio, Crystal Antlers can't help but sound like a mildly intriguing afterthought, even if Two-Way Mirror holds the line in hopes of greatness to come.
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Aug 3, 2011The see-sawing dynamic runs a bit ragged, ultimately.
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Jul 22, 2011It maintains the headstock-nodding guitar work, the coherence between players, and the alternating structure, but it winds down the pace and pokes some air holes in the top of their sound.
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Jul 21, 2011Despite spiraling further into outer space with each release, the pysch-punk band that calls Long Beach, California home keeps the drone thick yet tailored and the raucous guitar-and-drum blitzkriegs-which drive tracks such as "By the Sawkill" and "Seance"-concise.
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Jul 15, 2011Dripping guitars and distortion follow Crystal Antlers' predictable style, but the messy trajectory of Two-Way Mirror requires serious tolerance for walls of noise to endure from start to finish.