Crystal Castles had a lot to live up to after their debut self-titled album created a discerning following. The opening track, ‘Fainting Spells’, has a fantastic beat that builds to a rapid pace, almost to the point where it could sound like the work of a double bass pedal.
Before the album’s emergence I’d only heard ‘Celestica’ and ‘Doe Deer’. ‘Celestica’ has some mouth-watering euphoric moments tucked into the pockets of Alice Glass’ high pitched vocals, alluding to an eerie atmosphere in the song. ‘Doe Deer’ is a brutal assault of a song, the electronic equivalent to Slayer’s ‘Angel of Death’ – the song’s only fault lies in the last 30-seconds when the vocals just sound terrible and screechy.
One thing that resonates about their follow-up album is the distinct Scandinavian sound that they’ve managed to conjure. The duo border on the echoey Euro-trance sound without making it sound gimmicky or tired, a spin that no European dance act has attempted with decent results.
‘Empathy’ has some catchy blips jumping over the standard beat, the hand-clap-esque intro sounds like some earlier Slagsmålsklubben classics. Again, this is quite a sinister track that wouldn’t seem out of place in a nightmare.
‘Vietnam’s use of the vuvuzela at the beginning of the track certainly starts off a hypnotic wave of noise until the vocals and beat increase their tempo and light chiming crashes through the blistering chaos.
If there’s one song that confirms that Crystal Castles like to dabble in a bit of metal then that song is ‘Birds’. What sounds like a heavy guitar riff, pours over the songs acidic blips and bleeps, not entirely desirable.
Crystal Castles have done it though, they’ve shifted from the video game sound that dominated their first album and produced a matured album that surpasses any expectations we had. (II) has it all from the raucous euro-dance tracks to the hauntingly chilled out electronic songs that make you look at the other side of this spectacular band.
