Crystal Castles - Amnesty (I) ALBUM REVIEW

After the dispute former vocalist Alice Glass had with the main member Ethan Kath then the expected leave, we thought we would never hear another Crystal Castles album again. Their debut effort was revolutionary in a sense of musical originality with their violent chiptune synths and quite odd vocal experimentations, then forming a quite dark tone throughout their two last albums (II) and (III) with a more relaxed yet unsettling harmonic melody within their tracks. Now that we are introduced with a mysterious vocalist Edith Frances, it first gave me curiosity to what they would sound like after Glass’ departure as her unpredictability is what defined my taste in their music and now with Frances’ unknown personality, I was expecting a new generation of sounds to suit it. However, not a lot has changed within their latest work, Amnesty (I), but more of an evolution of what they did in the past, which shows more of how much Ethan Kath’s creative authority is controlled within the project to begin with.

All the familiar tropes Crystal Castles throw at us are still evident in Amnesty (I) with those punchy blasts of synths and hip hop beats. Right from the thumping second track Fleece, it feels like they haven’t touched anything new or ground-breaking, as if people would still think that Alice Glass is still involved in the project; it is very reminiscent to their 2012’s (III), and this is visible within tracks like Chloroform and Sadist with its RnB-like sounds but more unfinished; it feels very rushed. What I can say without a doubt is that Frances’ vocal range is more dominant to Glass’ but the problem is that they still use the experimental vocal tunes and has such a high reverb within most tracks, it is very difficult to recognise the lyrics. However, Frances shines most at Char within the verses where it has a 80s feel which feels very fresh for the band, and it goes the same with the track Ornament. Tracks like Concrete and Enth really showcases its broody dance beats, while the slow burner interludes like Femen, Teach Her How to Hunt expresses some very intriguing sounds. Kept felt like an old Crystal Castles, with its looped clipped vocals and unrelenting thumps, while the album closer Their Kindness Is Charade shows nothing new and pretty much mirrors every closer they did the past albums. The track Frail (which was the first track they did together after the Glass’ departure) really shines as the emotionally driven dance track talking about empowerment and rising above whether you are veiled or not (referring to woman in burqas, according to Frances). Its theme of human rights being central in this album is what makes it more praiseworthy, and more respect for them for donating all their proceeds from the album to Amnesty International, which tackles major issues like human rights, discrimination and civilian injustice.

Overall: The familiar gothic tone that they had within their past albums is still recognisable here, not really offering anything ground-breaking, but its themes of freedom and liberation from oppression and a set of intriguing slow burners and unrelenting dance tracks that branded them as innovative in the first place makes this a great comeback album.

Check out: Frail, Kept, Char

8/10

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