no 242: crystal castles
paul lester hearts these darlings of the electronic underground, whose 'songs' sound like a load of gameboys going off all at once in your brain.
hometown: toronto, canada.
the lineup: ethan fawn (multi-instrumentalist), alice glass (vocals).
the background: this is more like it. this is the best new band since the last one we really (new) raved about, which would be, ooh, mgmt three weeks ago. this is like having the inside of your head syringed clean after yesterday's faux-soul rot. we like this one a lot because - call us old-fashioned - on one song, crimewave, they sound like an android ian curtis intoning blankly over kraftwerk at their most synthetic and on another, alice practice, like rioting pac-men in an atari computer factory as the blair witch shrieks in the distance. clearly kraftwerk at their least synthetic is a contradiction in terms and obviously computer factory workers tend not to riot (neither do pac-men), but you know what we mean.
naming themselves either after an early-80s atari arcade game based on, funnily enough, pac-man or the princess of power's fortress in the sky from mattel's he-man/she-ra toy franchise (whichever, these kids like kids' stuff), crystal castles' digital violence and analogue vandalism is half way between warp at their most extreme and alec empire's digital hardcore, er, empire. With over a million profile views on myspace, they're already a big noise - and it is a big noise, an intimidating electronic squall of squeals and shrill squeaks and squawks that sounds like a load of gameboys going off at once in your brain. they've been described as "the most exciting and original band in the world right now" and "8-bit terror". and fawn, formerly of well-respected country-rock combo *%&%*%&%*%&, has already earned a reputation as a remixer for Klaxons and bloc party while glass is still recovering from her stint with fetus fatale.
but it's their own "songs" (term used advisedly) that have made them the darlings of the electronic underground, via free downloads on music blogs. they arrived at their highly original sound by placing atari 5200 sound-chips inside a keyboard. they're influenced by the two greatest rock'n'roll bands in history (the stooges and joy division, folks) and inspired by everything from zaccharias janssen, the inventor of the microscope, and "blank looks on girls". their ambition is "to write a song that can make the entire world vomit in unison" and to get psyched up for their live performances they "start fights with the opening bands and push old ladies into cars". their new single air war, the follow-up to cult smash crimewave and the alice practice ep, is outselling everything this week bar the most overrated rock'n'roll band in history (the clear stripes, folks), and they're supporting klaxons and justice at brixton academy tonight. expect mass crowd surges, metal barriers destroyed, blinding strobes, men with stockings over their faces, punishing electronics, and screeching vocals. should be a good gig.
the buzz: "ferocious, asphyxiating sheets of warped two-dimensional gameboy glitches and bruising drum bombast pierce the skull with sheer shrill force, burrowing deep into the brain like a fever."
the truth: it's brutal, it's violent... it's a pleasure.
most likely to: make you feel unsteady.
least likely to: appeal to fans of the hold steady.
file next to: atari teenage riot, max tundra, kid 606, squarepusher.
what to buy: air war is released by trouble (yes it is) on december 17. their album comes out on last gang in february 2008.
