Crystal Castles (2010 album)

Crystal Castles
Studio album by Crystal Castles
Released	23 April 2010
Genre	Electronic Experimental
Length	52:54
Label	Fiction
Producer	Ethan Kath
Crystal Castles chronology
Crystal Castles (2008) Crystal Castles (2010)
Singles from Crystal Castles
"Celestica" Released: April 17, 2010 (2010-04-17) "Baptism" Released: July 26, 2010 (2010-07-26) "Not in Love" Released: December 6, 2010 (2010-12-06)

Crystal Castles, also known as Crystal Castles II, is the second studio album by Crystal Castles released by Fiction Records on 24 May 2010.^[1][2] The album was initially scheduled for release on the 7th June 2010, but the release dates were moved forward after the album leaked online, thus a digital version of the album was released on the 23rd April 2010.

Recording

The album was recorded by Ethan Kath in a variety of locations including an abandoned church in Iceland, a self-built cabin in northern Ontario, a garage behind an abandoned drug store in Detroit, as well as Paul "Phones" Epworth's London studio.^[3] Of the experience, Kath said "I recorded most of the record in the coldest winter in decades in a church without heat in Iceland. It was so cold that when I listen back I can hear myself shivering. I chose it because it felt right". In December 2009, Kath gave vocalist Alice Glass a CD-R containing 70 instrumental tracks, for which she then recorded vocals on 35 tracks.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
BBC	(positive)[5]
Consequence of Sound	[6]
The Guardian	(positive)[7]
Pitchfork Media	(8.5/10)[8]
Popmatters	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]
sputnikmusic	[11]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[12]
Volumed	[13]

Crystal Castles has been met with mostly positive reviews from critics. According to aggregator site Metacritic, the album currently holds a 77% rating.^[14] Daniel Brockman of The Boston Phoenix praised the band for creating "a dense-yet-airy thicket of pure pop transcendence." MusicOMH also gave an extremely positive review, describing the album as "bold, dramatic, more than a little screwed-up and stunningly exciting statement." The music website Pitchfork Media rated the album 8.5 out of 10, and awarded it their "Best New Music" accolade. Pitchfork placed it at number 34 on its list "The Top 50 Albums of 2010".^[15]

The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.^[16]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fainting Spells"	2:44
2.	"Celestica"	3:48
3.	"Doe Deer"	1:38
4.	"Baptism"	4:13
5.	"Year of Silence"	4:54
6.	"Empathy"	4:11
7.	"Suffocation"	4:02
8.	"Violent Dreams"	4:35
9.	"Vietnam"	5:08
10.	"Birds"	2:31
11.	"Pap Smear"	3:43
12.	"Not in Love"	3:33
13.	"Intimate"	4:45
14.	"I Am Made of Chalk"	3:09

(II) and re-release

On April 25, 2011, Crystal Castles released a new version of the album, this time titled II, which included the Robert Smith version of Not in Love instead of the previous version.^[17] This release has superseded the previous release of the album in the U.S. iTunes Store.^[18]

Notes

• Robert Smith of The Cure sings the single version of "Not in Love", which is a cover of a song by 1980s new wave band Platinum Blonde.^[19]
• "Year of Silence" samples the vocal track from the Sigur Rós song entitled "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur".^[19]
• Both "Violent Dreams" and "Vietnam" contain samples of the song "A Walk In The Park" by Stina Nordenstam.^[19]
• The CD sleeve notes state that the album cover is a photo of X Tecumseh Clark taken by his father, avant-garde composer and poet Todd Tamanend Clark.^[19]

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[20]	25
UK Albums Chart[21]	48
UK Dance Albums Chart[22]	8
US Billboard 200[23]	188
U.S. Digital Albums[23]	24
U.S. Top Electronic Albums[23]	6
U.S. Top Heatseekers[23]	3

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Drowned In Sound	UK	The 50 Best Albums of the Year	2010	#18
Music OMH	UK	The 50 Best Albums of the Year	2010	#32
NME	UK	The 50 Best Albums of the Year	2010	#31[24]
Pitchfork Media	USA	The 50 Best Albums of the Year	2010	#34[25]
Rough Trade	UK	The 100 Best Albums of the Year	2010	#35[26]
Stereogum	USA	The 50 Best Albums of the Year	2010	#12[27]

References

1. ^ Dombal, Ryan (2010-04-13). "Crystal Castles Announce Second LP | News". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/news/38468-crystal-castles-announce-second-lp. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
2. ^ "New album "II" tracklist". Crystalcastles.com. http://crystalcastles.com/forum/index.php?topic=476. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
3. ^ "2nd album update". Crystalcastles.com. http://crystalcastles.com/forum/index.php?topic=357. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
4. ^ Phares, Heather (2010-04-23). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. http://allmusic.com/album/crystal-castles-ii-r1813702. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
5. ^ "BBC review". Bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/qw3q. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
6. ^ Stefan. "Consequence of Sound review". Consequenceofsound.net. http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/05/03/album-review-crystal-castles-crystal-castles-ii/. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
7. ^ Killian Fox. "The Guardian review". Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/may/02/crystal-castles-review. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
8. ^ Cohen, Ian (2010-04-29). "Pitchfork Media review". Pitchfork.com. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14190-crystal-castles/. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
9. ^ Jayasuriya, Mehan (2008-07-21). "Popmatters review". Popmatters.com. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/126470-crystal-castles-crystal-castles/. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
10. ^ "Slant Magazine review". Slantmagazine.com. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/crystal-castles-crystal-castles/2121. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
11. ^ "sputnikmusic review". Sputnikmusic.com. 2010-04-25. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/36436/Crystal-Castles-Crystal-Castles-II/. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
12. ^ Hill, Jay. "Tiny Mix Tapes review". Tinymixtapes.com. http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/crystal-castles-crystal-castles-0. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
13. ^ "Volumed review". Volumedmusic.tumblr.com. http://volumedmusic.tumblr.com/post/7085491504/album-review-crystal-castles-crystal-castles-ii. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
14. ^ "Crystal Castles [2010] Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. 2010-05-25. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/crystalcastles/crystalcastles2010. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
15. ^ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7893-the-top-50-albums-of-2010/2
16. ^ "Blue Rodeo, BSS on Polaris long list". The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2010.
17. ^ "(II) by Crystal Castles". iTunes Store. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ii/id443444808. Retrieved 15 July 2011. 
18. ^ "Download Crystal Castles Music on iTunes". iTunes Store. http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/crystal-castles/id213344206. Retrieved 15 July 2011. 
19. ^ ^{a b c d} (2010) Album notes for Crystal Castles by Crystal Castles. Fiction.
20. ^ Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles 2010 (Album) Retrieved 2010-06-06.
21. ^ Chart Stats - Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles Chart Stats. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
22. ^ Top 40 Dance Albums Archive 5 June 2010 Retrieved 2010-06-07.
23. ^ ^{a b c d} Billboard.com artist search Billboard. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
24. ^ "NME". NME. http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&p=9473&title=albums_of_2010_what_do_you_think&more=1&c=1. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
25. ^ By Pitchfork, December 16, 2010 (2010-12-16). "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2010 | Features". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7893-the-top-50-albums-of-2010/2/. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
26. ^ "Welcome to Rough Trade Shops". Roughtrade.com. http://www.roughtrade.com/site/content.lasso?page=AOY_2010_11-100_v2.html. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
27. ^ "Stereogum's Top 50 Albums Of 2010". Albumoftheyear.org. http://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/49-stereogums-top-50-albums-of-2010.php. Retrieved 2011-08-30.