Crystal Castles (2010 album)

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Crystal Castles
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Studio album by
Crystal Castles
ReleasedApril 23, 2010 (2010-04-23)
Genre
Length52:54
Label
Producer
Crystal Castles chronology
Crystal Castles
(2008) 		Crystal Castles
(2010) 		III
(2012)
Singles from Crystal Castles
  1. "Celestica"
    Released: April 16, 2010
  2. "Doe Deer"
    Released: April 17, 2010
  3. "Baptism"
    Released: July 26, 2010

Crystal Castles[a] is the second studio album by the Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles, released on May 24, 2010, by Fiction Records and Last Gang Records.[4][5] The album was initially scheduled for release on June 7, 2010; however, the release dates were moved forward after the album leaked online, thus a digital version of the album was released on April 23, 2010.

On April 25, 2011, the album was reissued digitally under the title II (stylized as (II)), which replaced the original version of "Not in Love" with the version featuring Robert Smith (of the Cure).[6]

Background

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Crystal Castles 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 Epworth's London studio.[7] 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".[8] 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 followed by an EP titled Doe Deer that was released only a few days later. In May the band physically released the album. The album reached number 48 on the UK Albums Chart and number 188 on the US Billboard 200.[9][10] Later on in December, the single version of "Not in Love", featuring guest vocals from Robert Smith of the Cure, was released. The single became Crystal Castles' highest-charting single to date.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[11]
Metacritic77/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[13]
BillboardStarStarStarStarHalf star[14]
The GuardianStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[15]
Los Angeles TimesStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[16]
NME7/10[17]
Pitchfork8.5/10[18]
QStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[19]
Spin8/10[20]
The TimesStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[21]
UncutStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[22]

Crystal Castles received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 24 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[12] 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." Pitchfork rated the album 8.5 out of 10, and awarded it their "Best New Music" accolade.

Commercial performance

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As of July 2012, Crystal Castles' first and second studio albums had sold a combined 174,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[23]

Accolades

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The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.[24]

Publication List Rank
Drowned in Sound Albums of the Year 2010[25] 18
musicOMH Top 50 Albums of 2010[26] 33
NME 75 Best Albums of 2010[27] 31
Pitchfork The Top 50 Albums of 2010[28] 34
The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010–2014)[2] 65
PopMatters The 70 Best Albums of 2010[29] 51
Rough Trade Albums of the Year (2010)[30] 35
Slant Magazine The 25 Best Albums of 2010[31] 6
The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s[32] 69
Spin The 40 Best Albums of 2010[33] 21
Stereogum Top 50 Albums of 2010[34] 12

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Fainting Spells"
Kath2:44
2."Celestica"
  • Kath
  • Glass
3:48
3."Doe Deer"
  • Kath
  • Glass
Kath1:38
4."Baptism"
  • Kath
  • Glass
  • Luke Leeder
4:13
5."Year of Silence"
Kath4:54
6."Empathy"
  • Kath
  • Glass
  • Kath
  • Alex Bonenfant
4:11
7."Suffocation"
  • Kath
  • Glass
  • Kath
  • Lee
4:02
8."Violent Dreams"
Kath4:35
9."Vietnam"
  • Kath
  • Nordenstam
  • Kath
  • Lee
5:08
10."Birds"
  • Kath
  • Glass
Kath2:31
11."Pap Smear"
  • Kath
  • Glass
Kath3:43
12."Not in Love"Mark Holmes
  • Kath
  • Lee
3:33
13."Intimate"
  • Kath
  • Glass
Kath4:45
14."I Am Made of Chalk"Kath
3:09
Big Day Out edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
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

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer.
  • ^[b] signifies an additional vocal producer.

Sample credits[35]

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crystal Castles.[35]

Crystal Castles

Additional personnel

  • Lexxx – vocal recording (track 1); mixing (tracks 1, 4–11)
  • Paul Epworth – additional production, vocal recording (track 2); guitar solo recording (track 10); additional vocal production (track 14)
  • Matthew Wagner – vocal recording (track 3)
  • Jacknife Lee – production (tracks 4, 7, 9, 12)
  • Alex Bonenfant – vocal recording (tracks 4, 7, 10, 11); production (track 6); mixing (tracks 7, 13); guitar recording (track 10); drum recording (track 13)
  • Christopher Chartrand – drum solo (track 13); live drums
  • X Tecumseh Clark – cover model
  • Todd Tamanend Clark – photograph
  • Marc Pannozzo – band photo
  • Nilesh Patel – mastering

Charts

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Chart performance for Crystal Castles
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[36] 25
Irish Albums (IRMA)[37] 56
Scottish Albums (OCC)[38] 54
UK Albums (OCC)[9] 48
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[39] 8
US Billboard 200[10] 188
US Top Dance Albums (Billboard)[40] 6

Notes

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  1. ^ Sometimes referred to as Crystal Castles II, stylized Crystal Castles (II).

References

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  9. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Crystal Castles Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
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  24. ^ "Blue Rodeo, BSS on Polaris long list" Archived 2010-09-01 at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2010.
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  36. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Crystal Castles – (II)". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  37. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Crystal Castles". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  38. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  39. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  40. ^ "Crystal Castles Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2016.

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