Why Crystal Castles Should've Called It A Day

The Canadian electro-punk outfit Crystal Castles is back with a controversial new album, Amnesty (I) – controversial because of its baggage. Perhaps it should have been best shelved.

 

It looked like Crystal Castles had spontaneously combusted when in 2014 vocalist Alice Glass unexpectedly announced her departure. Fans' reactions on Twitter were emo-dramatic. But cred producer Ethan Kath determined that Crystal Castles would continue – without Glass. Last year he ushered in the unknown Edith Frances on the song Frail. And all this happened amid an epic feud over past creative contributions and subliminal missives. Who knows the truth?

 

Crystal Castles emerged as part of the New Rave movement – epitomised by the fluoro-pop Klaxons. Yet, within this scene, they were fringe. Indeed, Crystal Castles were more gothic than glowstick. They put the glitch in witch house. The nihilism in electro-noise. 

Based in Toronto, Ethan Kath initiated the project – its name taken from the cartoon universe of She-Ra: Princess Of Power. He brought in Glass as vocalist. Then 16, Glass was performing in the all-girl Fetus Fatale – a neo-Slits. She'd grown up with Hole – and riot grrrl subculture. Glass didn't just sing – she screamed. From the outset, her approach was subversively feminist. Glass presaged the rise of that electro suffragette Grimes – and, weirdly, the grown-up Miley Cyrus.

 

Crystal Castles' debut materialised in 2008. If haters deemed the combo to be a hipster flash-in-the-pan, then they were proved #wrong. Crystal Castles became infamous for their anarchic, and raucous, live shows – dominated by Glass. The band's next album,(II), entailing the aerial trance Celestica, consolidated their success, cracking the Australian Top 30. In a coup, The Cure's Robert Smith lent his vocals to the single release of Not In Love. In 2012 Crystal Castles unveiled their definitive – and most political – album yet in(III).

 

Though Crystal Castles rarely granted interviews, cultivating mystique, Kath tended to handle them. In NME's 2012 cover story, writer Alex Miller spoke to both members on the road. Glass featured prominently, tackling industry sexism. The singer told of how she had been assaulted while crowdsurfing but was fighting back – with a knuckleduster ring. The pair last toured here with 2013's Big Day Out. At year's end, Crystal Castles went on hiatus. 

 

In October 2014 Glass signalled on Twitter that she was going solo – thereby dissolving the band. "I am leaving Crystal Castles. My art and my self-expression in any form has always been an attempt towards sincerity, honesty, and empathy for others. For a multitude of reasons both professional and personal I no longer feel that this is possible within CC. Although this is the end of the band, I hope my fans will embrace me as a solo artist in the same way they have embraced Crystal Castles." Crystal Castles' management disputed that the outfit was finished to NME. Then things got ugly, the former bandmates arguing over Glass' musical input. 

 

At the start of 2015, i-D magazine published an interview with Glass discussing plans for an album –and her newfound autonomy. In April Kath circulated Crystal Castles' comeback single – Frail. With it, he shared a statement via SoundCloud, wishing Glass well – "I think it can be empowering for her to be in charge of her own project" – but downplaying her involvement in Crystal Castles. "People often gave her credit for my lyrics and that was fine, I didn't care." Glass countered this strongly on Twitter, insisting that she wrote most of the lyrics and vocal melodies, and co-developed the sound and aesthetic. "Manipulative statements about my contributions to the band only reinforce the decision I made to move on to other things." In the interim, listeners speculated that Kath had pitch-altered his own vocals for Frail. The producer agreed to an email interview with Pitchfork, clarifying his comments. "I was making a point that my vision for CC was continuing. When I realised it came off as shade, I pulled it because I have no desire to throw any shade." Kath had learnt of Glass' choice to leave via social media ("there was no discussion about it"). He thought her remarks to i-D about lack of creative control were contradictory. Kath also confirmed that Frail was sung by "a girl named Edith". Anonymous, like. 

 

That July Glass made her solo debut with the song Stillbirth – produced by Jupiter Keyes of HEALTH, old Crystal Castles buddies. Proceeds were to go to the US RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) – ironic since Crystal Castles' early iconography depicted Madonna with a black eye… Glass issued a long statement about her experiences of psychological abuse: "Years ago I began the process of trying to remove myself from an abusive relationship that started when I was a teenager," she said. "I want young women and young men to understand that this kind of treatment of others can happen where it might be least expected. Even in environments that thrive on creativity and open-mindedness, that advocate artistic and counter-culture ideals. Sometimes people will use these things to camouflage themselves so that their abuse might go unnoticed. So that you wouldn't think to consider it could be happening right in front of you… The clarity I've gained since getting out of that situation has opened up my life in a way that I didn't imagine was possible."

 

Crystal Castles V 0.2 premiered live last November at a festival in… South Africa. However, when they were reported to be playing Tumblr's 79 Cents party at SXSW, intended to raise awareness of gender disparity, there was an outcry. Glass told The Verge, "As someone who knew Ethan Kath on a personal and professional level, it is my opinion that he is not an appropriate artist to be performing at a feminism-centric event." Organisers eventually dropped Crystal Castles, concerned that the debate would "distract" from their "mission". "We don't know the facts around comments made about a member of the band, and we're not going to engage in an investigation around it," Tumblr's statement asserted.

 

Crystal Castles have aired several songs from Amnesty (I) leading up to its release. Nevertheless, few advance album reviews have surfaced online. Crystal Castles have apparently minimised interviews. There is no mention of Glass' past membership, or even existence, in the press blurbs. 

 

Compared to Glass as frontwoman, Frances might be a phantom replicant, conveying no personality – or presence. Mostly, her voice sounds disembodied – the single Char bloodless pop-trap. Amnesty (I) doesn't stand up to Crystal Castles' previous forays, production-wise, either. It reveals little sonic progression, Crystal Castles still vacillating between hardcore rave and spectral ambience. Even the grim song titles – like Sadist – now seem contrived… or creepy. Has Kath lost his mojo? The title Amnesty (I) suggests that he envisages further albums – the beginning of another Crystal Castles trilogy. But it may have been wiser, and more diplomatic, to launch an alternative project. 'Crystal Castles' should give up the ghost.