Crystal Castles-Crystal Castles

I have been waiting for this album for over a year, not for lack of material posted on the interenet: Crystal Castles is truly a band of the Myspace generation, but more for a definitive collection of their work. The album ‘Crystal Castles’ is a success in this sense: 16 tracks of unadulterated electronic bleeps, but to me its the linking of each singularly awesome track together that lets it down. Crystal Castles as an act need to decide whether they are the kind of band that produces 3 minute or so gems of songs clearly definable from one another or if they are DJs, mixing them together to make a cohesive whole. In some cases, links between songs are more than tenuous: between Crimewave and Magic Spells, both of which are great songs comes a noise that sounds like a bin falling down the stairs: not good. Links aside, each tune on the album is great: ranging from chilled out ambience (Good Time and Magic Spells), to angst ridden, noisy electro (Alice Band Love and Caring and Xxzxcuzx Me). How do you sum up the sound of Canadian electro-rockers Crystal Castles? To me, their music evokes the sound your computer would make if it were alive, in the manner of the Transformers and the like: bizarre and robotic.
Stand out tracks: Alice Band, Crime Wave and Knights.
www.myspace.com/crystalcastles
If you like what you hear, they’re going on tour courtesy of NME and Topman in May.