Crystal Castles II

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Crystal Castles (II)
File:CrystalCastles2010Album.jpg
Studio album by Crystal Castles
Released 23 April 2010
Genre Experimental,[1] noise pop,[2] synthpop, dream pop, electropunk
Length 52:54
Label Fiction, Last Gang
Producer Ethan Kath, Jacknife Lee, Paul Epworth, Alex Bonenfant
Crystal Castles chronology
Crystal Castles
(2008)Crystal Castles2008		 (II)
(2010)		 (III)
(2012)(III)2012
Singles from (II)
  1. "Celestica"
    Released: April 17, 2010
  2. "Doe Deer"
    Released: April 17, 2010
  3. "Baptism"
    Released: July 26, 2010
  4. "Not in Love"
    Released: December 6, 2010

Crystal Castles, also known as (II), is the second studio album by Crystal Castles released by Fiction Records and Last Gang Records on May 24, 2010.[3][4] The album was initially scheduled for release on the June 7th, 2010, but the release dates were moved forward after the album leaked online, thus a digital version of the album was released on the April 23rd, 2010.

Background

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.[5] 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".[6] In December 2009, Kath gave vocalist Alice Glass 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 in April and an EP titled Doe Deer was released only a few days later. In May the band physically released the album. The album went at #48 in the UK Albums Chart[7] and at #188 in the US Billboard 200.[8] NME put the album at number #31 in the '50 Best Albums of the Year'. Later on in December the band released the third single off the album Not in Love which is a cover of a Platinum Blonde song featuring Robert Smith doing guest vocals (Album version does not feature vocals by Robert Smith). The single became the band's highest charting single to date.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[2]
BBC Music favorable[9]
Consequence of Sound 3/5 stars[1]
The Guardian favorable[10]
NME 7/10[11]
Pitchfork Media 8.5/10[12]
PopMatters 8/10[13]
Slant Magazine 3.5/5 stars[14]
Spin 8/10[15]
Tiny Mix Tapes 3.5/5 stars[16]

Crystal Castles has been met with mostly positive reviews from critics. According to aggregator site Metacritic, the album currently holds a 77% rating.[17] 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".[18]

The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.[19]

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
Big Day Out deluxe reissue
No. Title Length
15. "Not in Love" (featuring Robert Smith from The Cure) 3:48
16. "Celestica" (Bear in Heaven Remix) 3:29
17. "Celestica" (Thurston Moore Remix) 3:51
18. "Baptism" (No Age Remix) 4:18
19. "Baptism" (Punks Jump Up Remix) 5:03
20. "Suffocation" (Memory Tapes Remix) 5:09
21. "Mother Knows Best"   2:01
22. "Insectica"   1:49
23. "Seed"   1:44

Personnel

Crystal Castles
Additional personnel
  • Christopher Chartrand – drums on "Intimate", live drums
Production
  • Jacknife Lee – production on "Baptism", "Empathy", "Suffocation", "Vietnam", "Not in Love"
  • Paul Epworth – additional production on "Celestica", "I Am Made of Chalk", recording on "Birds"
  • Alex Bonenfant – production on "Empathy", recording on "Baptism", "Suffocation", "Birds", "Pap Smear", "Intimate", mixing on "Suffocation", "Intimate"
  • Lexxx – mixing on "Fainting Spells", "Baptism", "Year of Silence", "Empathy", "Suffocation", "Violent Dreams", "Vietnam", "Birds", "Pap Smear", recording on "Fainting Spells"
  • Matthew Wagner – recording on "Doe Deer"
  • Nilesh Patel – mastering
  • Jim Chancellor – A&R
  • James Sandom – management
  • X Tecumseh Clark – cover model
  • Todd Tamanend Clark – cover photo
  • Marc Pannozzo – band photo

(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.[20] This release has superseded the previous release of the album in the U.S. iTunes Store.[21]

Notes

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[23] 25
UK Albums Chart[7] 48
UK Dance Albums Chart[24] 8
US Billboard 200[8] 188
U.S. Digital Albums[8] 24
U.S. Top Electronic Albums[8] 6
U.S. Top Heatseekers[8] 3

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Drowned In Sound UK The 50 Best Albums of the Year 2010 #18
MusicOMH UK The 50 Best Albums of the Year 2010 #32
NME UK The 50 Best Albums of the Year 2010 #31[25]
Pitchfork Media USA The 50 Best Albums of the Year 2010 #34[26]
Rough Trade UK The 100 Best Albums of the Year 2010 #35[27]
Stereogum USA The 50 Best Albums of the Year 2010 #12[28]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ http://straightfrommyblood.tumblr.com/post/4638114971/i-recorded-most-of-the-record-in-the-coldest
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chart Stats - Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles Chart Stats. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Billboard.com artist search Billboard. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ "Blue Rodeo, BSS on Polaris long list". The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2010.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles 2010 (Album) Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  24. ↑ Top 40 Dance Albums Archive 5 June 2010 Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Crystal_Castles_II&oldid=5140854"