Crystal Castles - Amnesty (I)


Crystal Castles
Amnesty (I)
2016
Spotify

Crystal Castles have always pushed their boundaries. Each record seemed like a new opportunity to try something interesting. However Amnesty (I) is the first time we hear Crystal Castles without vocalist Alice Glass. The split was quite public and the two seem to harbor quite a bit of anger towards each other. One of the major problems when a band split up however is the loss of identity. Where Crystal Castles used to have an attitude of fuck the world, it now seems like that sentiment has turned inward. What comes out of that however is an album that is quite safe, pretty boring and seems to have a great deal of pain surrounding the breakup. There times like on "Enth" where the music is intense and dancey, but it is also quite hollow. The vocals on the record are pushed so far down and often muffled almost as if Kath wants to erase the fact that Glass was ever even in the band. An odd move seeing as Glass was really the frontwoman of Crystal Castles even if she left the majority of the song writing to Kath. The music is uncomfortable but not in an edge of your seat way, in a very awkward way like you aren't supposed to be hearing this. "Sadist" has slightly clearer vocals than the rest, but they feel like such an after thought it's almost as if Kath is going to punish Glass by erasing the fact that she was ever part of the group.

Edith Frances does her best Alice Glass impression throughout the album, but you cannot help but feel the how uncomfortable the whole record is. There are bright spots however. "Chloroform" recaptures that twitchy industrial electronic music that gave Crystal Castles a place at the table in the first place. It is a very moody tack, as the entire album is, but this one stands out for some reason perhaps because the vocals can actually be heard over the beat. "Frail" is another standout and sounds almost Grimes-esque to the point where I had to check the liner notes that make sure that was not her vocal yelling in the background. The song really pulls the album out of the muck that it has been flailing around in for most of the time before it. What Kath seemed to want to do here is really let out some rage at his whole situation. This album feels like an airing of grievances with a nod to the future peppered in. While it certainly is not the best record that Crystal Castles have put out, there are moments of brilliance that show they can still bring it when all this controversy is not floating around the project.

6.6 out of 10 

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