Live Review: LISTEN: Crystal Castles 'Affection'

Notorious for her unpredictable behaviour on stage as one half of CRYSTAL CASTLES, it was the words of Alice Glass that made the headlines recently.

Speaking to NME of her distaste for the popularisation of promoting sex to kids and the example mainstream pop stars are setting, she took rather colourful aim at one in particular: "Fucking Katy Perry spraying people with her fucking dick, her fucking cum gun coming on fucking children". Well...when you put it that way, fair enough. More than just an opinion, it was an unapologetically abrasive statement that illustrates the kind of uncompromising, fearless attitude that drives the band creatively.

With their 3rd full length appropriately titled (III) just about ready for release, CRYSTAL CASTLES decided to treat us to another peek at what's in store for us come November 12 by unveiling album cut 'Affection'.

Clocking in at a concise 2 minutes 37, Alice's airy vocal floats over stuttering synths and thumping bass to create what I imagine 'Baptism' would sound like if it were a Purity Ring track. It's a downshift in intensity from previous efforts with Ethan Kath's production seemingly more focused on experimenting with the subtlties of texture than the shock of violent noise. 'Affection' is another masterful piece of electro art pop from a duo whose sound continues to evolve and mark new ground within a genre they play a major role in defining.

CRYSTAL CASTLES will be touring Australia in early 2013 for the Big Day Out and have announced sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne to be supported by Gold Fields.

Words by Brad Davis

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