Crystal Castles
s/t
It’s an Atari game and now it’s also a Toronto two-piece who twist an 8-bit aesthetic into dark, danceable post-rave. Singer Alice Glass contorts over Ethan Kath’s combination of warped Nintendo squeals and heavy synthesizers – the resulting sound isn’t just cold – it’s positively frozen. Crystal Castles sound as though they’re playing frost covered instruments in a meat locker while wearing black hoodies and black sunglasses with the lights off – in other words, it’s menacingly good. Highlights: Untrust Us, Courtship Date, XXZXCUZX ME
Health
DISCO
If there’s one release that could probably do with a drastic remix it’s Health’s underwhelming self-titled release from this year. While their first album did add some interesting thematic elements to the sludge-rock genre (pop, noise and ambience), it felt a little too much like Boris’ Pink redux than an original release from an original band. DISCO re-imagines Health through the lens of some wickedly aggressive electro – it’s an impressive mix of brontosaurus rock with razor sharp synthesizers – and it comes across like a raving LCD Soundsystem hopped-up on angel dust running naked through the streets. Highlights: Lost Time (Picture Plane Remix), Heaven (Narctrax Remix), Zoothorns (Nastique’s Remix)
The Gutter Twins
Saturnalia
Remember when gothic meant something other than wearing dark make-up and scribbling in a skull and cross-bones diary? Me neither, but The Gutter Twins (former Afghan whig Greg Dhulli and former Screaming Trees Mark Lanegan) conjure up a dark and sensuous record that would soundtrack perfectly to Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. Whether its white noise strings, growling stand up bass, rumbling synthesizers, or whispery come-hither lyrics, the whole record effortlessly melds into a smoky vision of wax candles and crushed velvet. Highlights: The Stations, Circle the Fringes, God’s Children
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