''Crystal Castles'' is the second studio album by the Canadian

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

duo

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass. Crystal Castles was known for their chaotic live shows and lo-fi music, lo-fi melanc ...

, released on May 24, 2010, by

Fiction Records Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of the Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...

and

Last Gang Records Last Gang Records is a record label formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald K. Tarlton in the fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival. Last Gang was nominated as Independent Record Label of th ...

. The album was initially scheduled for release on June 7, 2010; however, the release dates were moved forward after the album leaked online, thus a digital version of the album was released on April 23, 2010. On April 25, 2011, the album was reissued digitally under the title ''II'' (stylized as ''(II)''), which replaced the original version of " Not in Love" with the version featuring Robert Smith (of

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

Background

''Crystal Castles'' was recorded by

Ethan Kath Claudio Paolo Palmieri (born December 25, 1977), known professionally as Ethan Kath, is a Canadian musician. He was the co-founder and songwriter/producer for Crystal Castles and bassist of Kïll Cheerleadër and Die Mannequin. Biography Early ...

in a variety of locations including an abandoned church in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, a self-built cabin in northern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, a garage behind an abandoned drug store in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, as well as

Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of th ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

studio. 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 Margaret Osborn (born 25 August 1988), known professionally as Alice Glass, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is the co-founder and former frontwoman of the electronic band Crystal Castles. In 2014, she embarked on a solo career. She rel ...

a CD-R containing 70 instrumental tracks, for which she then recorded vocals on 35 tracks. In order to promote the album, the band released the first single "

Celestica Celestica Inc. is a Canadian multinational design, manufacturing, hardware platform, and supply chain electronics manufacturing services (EMS) company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company operates in 50 sites across 15 countries. ...

" in April followed by an EP titled ''

Doe Deer "Doe Deer" is a song recorded by the Canadian electronic band Crystal Castles for their second studio album, ''Crystal Castles'' (2010). It was released on April 17, 2010, as the second single from the album. The single was available exclusively ...

'' that was released only a few days later. In May the band physically released the album. The album reached number 48 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and number 188 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Later on in December, the single version of " Not in Love", featuring guest vocals from Robert Smith of

, was released. The single became Crystal Castles' highest-charting single to date.

Critical reception

''Crystal Castles'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

weighted mean The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 24 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Daniel Brockman of ''

The Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the now defunct ''Boston Phoenix'', '' ...

'' praised the band for creating "a dense-yet-airy thicket of pure pop transcendence."

MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

also gave an extremely positive review, describing the album as "bold, dramatic, more than a little screwed-up and stunningly exciting statement." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' rated the album 8.5 out of 10, and awarded it their "Best New Music" accolade.

Commercial performance

As of July 2012, Crystal Castles' first and second studio albums had sold a combined 174,000 copies in the United States, according to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...

Accolades

The album was a longlisted nominee for the

2010 Polaris Music Prize The 2010 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 20, 2010."Blue Rodeo, BSS on Polaris long list"
. ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', June 17, 2010.

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer. * signifies an additional vocal producer. Sample credits * "Year of Silence" contains a sample of " Inní mér syngur vitleysingur" by

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...

. * "Vietnam" and "Violent Dreams" contain a sample of "A Walk in the Park" by

Stina Nordenstam Kristina Ulrika Marianne Nordenstam (born 4 March 1969), better known by her stage name Stina Nordenstam, is a Swedish singer-songwriter and producer. She is perhaps best known for her song "Little Star", which appears in the Baz Luhrman film R ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Crystal Castles''. Crystal Castles *

– production ; mixing *

– vocals Additional personnel * Lexxx – vocal recording ; mixing *

– additional production, vocal recording ; guitar solo recording ; additional vocal production * Matthew Wagner – vocal recording *

Jacknife Lee Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including the Cars, U2, R.E.M., the Killers, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club, AFI, the Hives, Weezer, One Direc ...

– production * Alex Bonenfant – vocal recording ; production ; mixing ; guitar recording ; drum recording * Christopher Chartrand – drum solo ; live drums * X Tecumseh Clark – cover model *

Todd Tamanend Clark Todd Tamanend Clark (born Todd Clark; August 10, 1952) is an American poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, cultural historian, author, artist, and activist. He is known for "his musical blend of Native American heritage, glam fashion consciou ...

– photograph * Marc Pannozzo – band photo * Nilesh Patel – mastering

Charts

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2010 albums Albums produced by Jacknife Lee Albums produced by Paul Epworth Crystal Castles albums Fiction Records albums Last Gang Records albums Sequel albums