topman nme new noise tour may 2008.

 

crystal castles remixed numerous groups including liars, goodbooks, the whip and most notably klaxons, adding their digital reverb to ‘atlantis to interzone’

"when we formed we wanted to piss people off," ethan told us backstage on the tour, "we thought we were making such weird music that no-one would ever like it". 

last sunday in newcastle he was proved wrong again.

crystal castles destroy newcastle on the topman nme new noise tour, which saw support from friendly fires, team waterpolo and white lies.

topman nme new noise tour headliners crystal castles, whose movements have been shrouded in rumours since they arrived on our radar two years ago. stories have circulated that ethan is on the run from police, and that they were in an embarrassing glam rock band for several years.

crystal castles used their topman new noise tour set to give new track ‘exoskeleton’ a live outing. find out how the tour went down in this week’s nme magazine. 

crystal castles have divided opinion on nme.com. one user thinks they sound "like the worst soundtrack for the worst video game ever" while another remarked that their album was "a highly original piece of work with fantastic tracks to back up the expansive sound". we gave it 8/10, and anyone who has witnessed their live show will testify to their genius.

nme cover stars crystal castles backstage on the topman nme new noise tour 2008 in newcastle last sunday (may 11). the band had to cancel some of their tour dates in march after alice broke her ribs in a car accident, but they were back on top form this week. 

text by nme magazine

ph. tim cochrane

 

crystal castles at digital, april 17, 2007.

 

alice glass of crystal castles. she spent most of the gig writhing across the heads of the audience or being pulled around by the security who just couldnt work out what to do with her. this is a moment of calm, frozen by the strobes she has either side of the stage.

by kevinmason

crystal castles show at the birmingham carling academy 2, august 28, 2008.

 

crystal castles show at the carling academy 2 in birmingham, 28/08/08, originally scheduled for the 12th of september. 

by danhibell 

crystal castles @ c/o pop, cologne, august 14, 2008.

 

by cassandrax

crystal castles @ spin/ray-ban flip out party, 22 october 2011.

 

 

"many people find it shocking that I never saw сrystal сastles live before. they make sure to confirm how ridiculous the notion is, because of how utterly ridiculous the crystal castles live experience is. rest assured, i believed them, but i surely didn’t know just how true the sentiment was at the time.

being a small intimate private party, i was lucky enough to have a position side by side with one thirty bpm’s very own evan kaloudis right near the front of the stage. i may have never seen the band live before, but i was aware of how important a good spot was, as lead singer alice glass is known for spending a large amount of her time crowd surfing and making sure you’re aware of her presence.

it didn’t take time for me to realize that all my friends were incredibly correct about crystal castles live power. Immediately we were pistol whipped into a dance rave frenzy that was marvelous controlled chaos. alice glass lived up to her reputation as a hypnotic performer, crowd surfing numerous times. at one point she grabbed my hand, and i helped propel her into the crowd as i gloriously multi-tasked snapping photos. her presence is a mixture of wild sexiness that is also quite intimidating. while taking photos i was pretty concerned that she would crack her bottle of jim bean over my head.

thankfully things never got that wild, but this show was copious amounts of ecstasy ready fun. the whole show flew by, with all the best cuts from the bands 2 lp’s guiding the way towards the rave-tastic event that left us out of breath, and instead, filled with joy.

i can tell you right now, do whatever you can to see crystal castles live. everything that you’ve heard about their live show is beyond true. their performance was the highlight of my cmj, and easily one of the most genuinely fun concert experiences of my time.

it truly is ridiculous that i never saw them until last night."

text and photo by will oliver, weallwantsomeone

wrongbar, toronto, february 21, 2008.

crystal castles bring it home

the cyber-punk duo spark a hogtown grindathon. awaiting a set from local heroes crystal castles, fans were content to thrash out their anticipation in a sweaty cluster of keffiyahs and kanye shades last night at toronto's wrongbar until the puckish duo took the stage. frontwoman alice glass, looking like a black-rimmed jd salinger heroine viciously attacked by karen o in a dark closet, demurely vogued to the hard-edged beats of mix master ethan kath, who remained hunched over his atari-pimped synthesizer (a 5200 chip is encased inside) throughout the set. both sported his and her leathers, and emanated a mysterious resilience.

a live drummer added weighted professionalism to the frenetic burn of bangers "no skin," "air war," and myspace slam-dunk "alice practice," as a constant pounce of strobe lights induced electric synesthesia (or maybe it was just the flash of all those photo bloggers). but it was latest single "crimewave," off the band’s yet-to-be titled forthcoming last gang debut that defined their noir-slick sonic. like an abba-tinged pulsation remixed with l.a. scenesters health, crystal castles delivered never-ending glossy noise combustions, always in search of the next nintendo power-up.

text by chandler levack, spin magazine

photo by daniel epstein