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 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 ...

. In 2014, she embarked on a solo career. She released her eponymous debut EP in 2017. Her solo debut album, '' Prey//IV,'' was released in February 2022.

Life and career

1988–2014: early life and Crystal Castles

Alice Glass was born Margaret Osborn on 25 August 1988 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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 ...

. She was raised Catholic, attending

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

up until junior high. At age 15, she ran away from home to live in a squat community of punks under the name Vicki Vale (after the comic book character) and started an all-girl experimental punk band called Fetus Fatale. In December 2003, she and

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 ...

began working together on the project that would become

. She picked the stage name Alice Glass based on a pin with the name Alice that she shoplifted and Hopey Glass, a character in '' Love and Rockets''. Alice Glass C

Crystal Castles' first official release was their 2006 single " Alice Practice". The song got the band their first record deal with Merok Records in London. The same year, Crystal Castles played their first live show at Clinton's Tavern in Toronto. "Alice Practice" was eventually featured on their eponymous debut album released in 2008. Glass topped ''NME''s Cool List that year and responded to it by criticizing the idea of the cool list itself. The duo followed their debut album with two more critically acclaimed albums, '' II'' (2010) and '' III'' (2012), completing a trilogy. Glass co-wrote every Crystal Castles song she contributed vocals to. In October 2014, Glass announced her departure from Crystal Castles due to her own professional and personal reasons. In the announcement, she noted that working within the band compromised her efforts towards "sincerity, honesty, and empathy for others". She later had a number of public disagreements with her former bandmate, including accusing him of assault and sexual misconduct.

2015–2017: solo albums and lawsuit

In July 2015, Glass released her debut single as a solo artist, "

Stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetus, fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without vital signs, signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt (emotio ...

". The release was largely an effort to increase awareness of domestic and sexual abuse. Glass worked with anti-sexual assault organization RAINN to donate all proceeds from the song's revenue to aid abuse victims. In August 2017, Glass released " Without Love", which served as the lead single to her eponymous debut EP which was released the following week. She headed on tour with

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

following the release of the EP. In October 2017, Glass posted a statement on her official website explaining her departure from Crystal Castles, accusing co-founder

of sexual, physical, and mental abuse. The accusations detail the abuse starting when Glass was 15 and began recording with Kath and escalated until her eventual departure from Crystal Castles. Kath responded the same day in a statement issued to ''

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 ...

'' through his attorney, where he called the accusations "pure fiction" and said he was consulting with his lawyers as to his legal options. The following month, Kath sued Glass for defamation, but was dismissed in February 2018. In May, Glass was awarded nearly US$21,000 in attorney fees after Kath's lawyers sought to vacate the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against Glass.

2018–2020: non-album single releases

In January 2018, Glass released "

Forgiveness Forgiveness, in a psychology, psychological sense, is the intentional and voluntary process by which one who may have felt initially wronged, victimized, harmed, or hurt goes through a process of changing feelings and attitude regarding a given ...

" as the second single from her EP. She also released that month a brand new single called "

Cease and Desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...

", which she said "is a call to arms for all survivors." Both singles were accompanied by music videos. In April 2018, Glass embarked on her SnowBlood Tour alongside American singer

Zola Jesus Nika Roza Danilova (born Nicole Rose Hummel; April 11, 1989), known professionally by her stage name Zola Jesus, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her music has been noted for combining elements of electronic, industrial, ...

, with electronic musician

Pictureplane Travis James Egedy (born May 1, 1985), better known by his stage name Pictureplane, is an American electronic musician, visual artist and fashion designer based in Brooklyn, New York. He first appeared in the music scene of Denver, Colorado, m ...

being an opening act on select dates. The tour is named after Lady Snowblood, spurned star of the eponymous 1973 Japanese film. Later that month, Glass released a remix EP, consisting of remixes of songs from her eponymous EP released in 2017. The EP includes remixes from both Zola Jesus and Pictureplane. In June 2018, Glass released a new single, " Mine", accompanied by a music video directed by Lucas David and starring American drag queen

Violet Chachki Violet Chachki is the stage name of Paul Jason Dardo (born June 13, 1992), an American drag queen, burlesque/Aerial dance, aerial Performing arts, performer, Content creation, content creator, model, and Music artist (occupation), recording arti ...

. In December, Glass was featured on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

's singles series with a new song titled "I Trusted You". Alice Glass - Rock am Ring 2019-3520

In 2020, Glass revealed that she does not receive appropriate royalties from her work in Crystal Castles. She disavowed her tenure in the band and asked fans to cease their support of the group.

2021–present: ''Prey//IV''

Glass released the single "Suffer and Swallow" on 6 January 2021, which was the first song she shared from her long-awaited solo debut album which she said was to be released later that year. The song was accompanied by a stop-motion music video by Lucas David. She had a guest appearance on Alice Longyu Gao's single "Legend" which was released on 27 May 2021. On 19 November 2021, Glass unveiled the title and shared the track listing of her solo debut album '' Prey//IV'' and announced a release date of 28 January 2022 by her own Eating Glass Records. The announcement was accompanied the single "Baby Teeth", which had by a music video by Astra Zero and Lucas David. On 8 December 2021, Glass premiered the single "Fair Game" accompanied by a music video directed by Bryan M. Ferguson On 28 January 2022, Glass released "Love Is Violence", after the album's release was delayed to February. The single was accompanied by a gory music video by Bryan M. Ferguson. The early 2000s-inspired video depicts two teenagers who sensually pull out each other's entrails. Upon the album's release on the 16 February 2022, Glass premiered a music video for "Everybody Else" directed by Astra Zero. On 21 September 2022, Glass released a new single, "Lips Apart". On 18 April 2024, Glass released a cover of the Smashing Pumpkins song "Drown," produced by Jupiter Keyes. On 21 June 2024, Glass released a new single, "Remains", featuring New York-based musician CLIP. The same day, a visualizer was also released on Glass's YouTube channel.

Solo discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Remix EPs

Singles

Guest appearances

Music videos

References

External links

Interview with the Independent newspaper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glass, Alice 1988 births 21st-century Canadian women singers Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian electronic musicians Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian feminists Crystal Castles members Canadian feminist musicians Living people Loma Vista Recordings artists Singers from Toronto Canadian political music artists 21st-century squatters Canadian women in electronic music 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters