Crystal Castles (album)

Crystal Castles
Studio album by Crystal Castles
Released	March 18, 2008
Recorded	2005–07
Genre	Synthpop[1] electropunk[2] 8-bit[3] noise[4]
Length	51:55
Label	Lies Last Gang
Producer	Crystal Castles Ethan Kath Squeak E. Clean Matthew Wagner
Crystal Castles chronology
Crystal Castles (2008) Crystal Castles II (2010)
Singles from Crystal Castles
"Crimewave" Released: August 13, 2007 "Air War" Released: December 17, 2007 "Courtship Dating" Released: March 31, 2008 "Vanished" Released: June 14, 2008

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[6]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[7]
Entertainment Weekly	B[8]
NME	8/10[9]
The Observer	[10]
Pitchfork Media	7.8/10[11]
PopMatters	[12]
Slant Magazine	[13]
Spin	[14]

Crystal Castles is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles, released on March 18, 2008 by Lies Records and Last Gang Records. The album is a compilation of the band's previous sold-out singles, early unreleased tracks and three new songs recorded for the album.^[11]

Accolades

Publication	List	Rank
Complex	The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade[15]	76
Consequence of Sound	The Top 100 Albums (2008)[16]	25
Drowned in Sound	50 Albums of 2008[17]	15
NME	Top 50 Albums of 2008[18]	12
	50 Greatest Debut Albums[19]	Unranked
	The Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade[20]	39
	The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[21]	477
Pitchfork Media	The 50 Best Albums of 2008[22]	15
PopMatters	The Best Albums of 2008[23]	17

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Untrust Us"	Ethan Kath Death from Above 1979	Kath	3:06
2.	"Alice Practice"	Kath Alice Glass	Kath Matthew Wagner^[a]	2:42
3.	"Crimewave" (Crystal Castles vs. Health)	Kath Health	Kath	4:18
4.	"Magic Spells"	Kath	Kath	6:07
5.	"Xxzxcuzx Me"	Kath Glass	Kath Crystal Castles^[a] Wagner^[a]	1:54
6.	"Air War"	Kath	Kath	4:12
7.	"Courtship Dating"	Kath Glass	Kath^[b] Squeak E. Clean^[a]	3:30
8.	"Good Time"	Kath Drinking Electricity	Kath	2:56
9.	"1991"	Kath	Kath	1:53
10.	"Vanished"	Kath Van She	Kath	4:02
11.	"Knights"	Kath	Kath	3:13
12.	"Love and Caring"	Kath Glass	Kath Crystal Castles^[a] Wagner^[a]	2:18
13.	"Through the Hosiery"	Kath Glass	Kath Squeak E. Clean^[a] Crystal Castles^[a]	3:07
14.	"Reckless"	Kath	Kath	3:28
15.	"Black Panther"	Kath Glass	Kath^[b] Squeak E. Clean^[a]	2:56
16.	"Tell Me What to Swallow"	Kath Glass	Kath	2:14

Japanese edition bonus tracks[24]
No.	Title	Length
17.	"Trash Hologram"	2:17
18.	"Air War" (David Wolf remix)	3:21

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies a vocal producer
• ^{^b} also a vocal producer

Sampling credits^[25]

• "Untrust Us" contains a sample of "Dead Womb" by Death from Above 1979.
• "Magic Spells" contains a sample of "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
• "Air War" contains a sample of "Thema (Omaggio a Joyce)" by Luciano Berio.
• "Good Time" contains a sample of "Good Times" (Dance Mix) by Drinking Electricity.
• "Vanished" contains a sample of the vocal track and melody of "Sex City" by Van She.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crystal Castles.^[25]

Crystal Castles

• Ethan Kath – production (all tracks); mixing (tracks 3, 6, 16); vocal production (tracks 7, 15)
• Alice Glass – vocals
• Crystal Castles – vocal production (tracks 5, 12, 13)

Additional personnel

Mikey Apples – layout Alex Bonenfant – additional vocal recording (track 7); mixing (track 11); recording (track 16) Lazar Nesic – mixing (tracks 3, 6) Health – background screaming (track 7) Lexxx – mixing (tracks 1, 4, 7–10, 13–15)

Nils – mastering Stuart Pillinger – cover photo Squeak E. Clean – vocal production (tracks 7, 13, 15) Matthew Wagner – vocal recording (track 2); vocal production (tracks 5, 12)

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Australian Dance Albums Chart[26]	23
French Albums Chart[27]	175
Irish Albums Chart[28]	49
Scottish Albums Chart[29]	62
UK Albums Chart[30]	47
UK Independent Albums Chart[31]	3
US Top Electronic Albums[32]	6
US Top Heatseekers[33]	3
US Top Independent Albums[34]	32

References

1. Phares, Heather. "Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
2. Jayasuriya, Mehan (June 4, 2010). "Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles". PopMatters. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
3. Phares, Heather. "Crystal Castles (II) – Crystal Castles". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
4. Hoby, Hermione (November 11, 2012). "Crystal Castles: (III) – review". The Guardian. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
5. "Reviews for Crystal Castles by Crystal Castles". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
6. Christgau, Robert. "Crystal Castles". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
7. Kharas, Kev (April 29, 2008). "Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
8. Lee, Youyoung (March 14, 2008). "Crystal Castles". Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
9. Naylor, Tony (May 2, 2008). "Crystal Castles". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
10. Thompson, Ben (April 20, 2008). "Reviews 26–40". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
11. Cohen, Ian (March 17, 2008). "Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
12. Jayasuriya, Mehan (July 21, 2008). "Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles". PopMatters. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
13. Hughes, Dave (April 6, 2008). "Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
14. Reeves, Mosi (April 2008). "Reviews: New CDs". Spin 24 (4): 94. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
15. "The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade". Complex. April 2, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
16. Roffman, Michael (December 17, 2008). "CoS Year-End Report: The Top 100 Albums". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
17. Adams, Sean (December 11, 2008). "Drowned in Sound's 50 albums of 2008". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
18. "Top 50 Albums Of 2008". NME. Time Inc. UK. January 23, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
19. "50 Greatest Debut Albums". NME. Time Inc. UK. November 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
20. "The Top 100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade". NME. Time Inc. UK. November 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
21. "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 500–401". NME. Time Inc. UK. 21 October 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
22. "The 50 Best Albums of 2008". Pitchfork Media. December 19, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
23. "The Best Albums of 2008". PopMatters. December 18, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
24. "Crystal Castles Crystal Castles CD Album". CDJapan. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
25. Crystal Castles (CD liner notes). Crystal Castles. Last Gang Records. 2008. Q2 00962.
26. "ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 7th April 2008" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Pandora Archive. p. 17. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
27. "Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
28. "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 1 May 2008". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. May 4–10, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
30. "Crystal Castles" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
31. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. May 4–10, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
32. "Crystal Castles – Chart history: Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
33. "Crystal Castles – Chart history: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
34. "Crystal Castles – Chart history: Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 19, 2016.