Crystal Castles announce new album, release new single, give you nightmares with "Plague" video

Big news from Toronto's least friendly, most danceable goth duo, Crystal Castles (sorry, Trust -- nice try!). Crystal Castles producer Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass have been dropping hints about their third album for a few months now, but at last, they've provided the world with details. Out November 5 via Casablanca/Fiction/Universal Republic, the new record will, like its two predecessors, be self-titled (Crystal Castles' #1 favorite thing is to be difficult), and henceforth will be known in practice as Crystal Castles (III). That's the cover art above, featuring what Pitchfork tells me is "an award-winning image by Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda...taken after a street demonstration in Yemen on October 15, 2011." It "pictures a woman...holding her son...who suffered from tear gas." Seem bleak? Well, of course: Crystal Castles' #2 favorite thing is to be depressing, and the following statement from Alice Glass suggests that III will find her and Kath at their most gloomy and antagonistic:

"Oppression is a theme, in general.... A lot of bad things have happened to people close to me...and it's profoundly influenced my writing as I've realized there will never be justice for them.... I didn't think I could lose faith in humanity any more than I already had, but after witnessing some things, it feels like the world is a dystopia where victims don't get justice and corruption prevails. I'm one step away from being a vigilante to protect people and bring justice to the people I love. I've thought about it."

Okay, so what I get from that is: yikes, Alice Glass is terrifying. If you encounter a tiny, very angry 20-something woman dressed sorta like a bat in a Toronto alleyway, run the f away before she destroys you! If you need more convincing, click here to DOWNLOAD (for free!) the new single from the album, entitled "Wrath of God" (...um, help!). Kath's production on the track, as with the earlier single "Plague," continues to blend 8-bit, shoegaze, and nu-rave textures with danceable yet melancholy results, rendered psychologically disturbing by Glass's hysterical vocal work. The richer, dreamier sound is probably the result of the acoustic recording processes and all new keyboards Kath employed during the recording sessions for III. He said in a statement that he "wanted the album to have a completely different sound," which we can safely assume is code for "Alice Glass threatened to eat me alive if my tracks grew repetitive and stale."

A new album, a new album cover, a new single, and a new reason to be afraid of Ms. Glass is already a lot of new information from this famously cryptic pair, but WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Have you been sleeping soundly at night? Are your dreams pleasant and relaxing? Remedy these conditions by watching the reeeeeeally, really upsetting new music video for the first single from III, "Plague," which came out on 7" this summer. Depicting a possessed woman's final throes, a ballet lesson gone demonically awry, and an unexpected, decidedly unpleasant use of milk (ew), this is seriously freaky stuff, freakier even than the song that soundtracks it. The video is embedded below; do not let a child see it.

UPDATE: The video was directed by a fan, and the band liked it so much they made it the official video for the track, which tells you all you need to know about their taste. The footage is actually from a 1981 horror film called Possession. (Information courtesy of Pitchfork.)

Baby Face Killa marks Freddie Gibbs’ third major mixtape in the last four years, following up well received joints The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs and Cold Day In Hell.  The Gary, Indiana native has impressed with his relentless, meticulously efficient flow and a distinctive voice steeped in the desolation of his hometown.  BFK, presented by the omnipresent DJ Drama, features guest spots from vets such as Young Jeezy, Krayzie Bone, and Jadakiss, as well as up and comers, SpaceGhostPurrp, Kirko Bangz, and YG.  But no matter who’s on the track with him, Gibbs’ verses dominate BFK’s 18 cuts, thanks to his gravelly delivery and ability to overcome at-times mediocre beat-making.

With the tape’s first track, “BFK”, first time Gibbs’ listeners will likely find his style familiar, for his voice and flow recall the deep, syrupy deliveries of Southern greats Bun B and Trick Daddy.  It’s this flow which carries the album’s opening tracks, making up for some pretty played-out hooks and mediocre production.  Several of the tracks feel as though they’re one or two simple flaws away from being exceedingly enjoyable.  “Money, Clothes, Hoes” features one of the album’s best beats, a synthy, oscillating nightmare from Feb.9, and Gibbs matches it by slowing down from his usual rapid-fire delivery with a well-executed mix of thuggery and creepiness.  Unfortunately, the hook features Gibbs chanting the song’s title for almost a full minute, and we’re left wishing that the attention Gangsta Gibbs pays to executing technically flawless verses could be applied to creating a more innovative chorus.  The next number, “The Hard” has more great production from Feb.9, a spacey beat laced with haunting operatics, which lends perfectly executed Gibbs lines (“this glock ain’t got no safety, the owner got no patience, so please don’t make my finger and this trigger make relations”) a surreal feeling.  But unfortunately, the hook is basic and repetitive, and the featured Dana Williams sounds like a dispirited Rihanna impersonator.

The album’s all around strongest track is undoubtedly “Kush Cloud”.  SMKA’s smoked out beat alone is enough to keep me coming back to this song, and it’s haziness makes another routine hook from Gibbs sound appropriate in a hypnotic way.  When Freddie drops in out of nowhere, “Mo murda, mo murda, in the Tahoe with my burner”, his voice cuts into the ambience of the beat like a face looming through a cloud of smoke.  He shouts out Bone Thugs ‘n’ Harmony near the end of his verse, and Krayzie Bone, the Cleveland group’s most successful soloist, responds with a very strong showing of his own.  Old school fans will be satisfied to hear that he hasn’t lost a step, and he leaves us wondering how he manages to seemingly never take a breath (especially given the habit he’s discussing).  Finally, Florida’s SpaceGhostPurrp ends things by slowing the song down to a codeine-tinted, psychedelic crawl, a very effective finish after the non-stop efforts from Gibbs and Krayzie Bone.

As the second half of the tape progresses, Gibbs’ strengths become increasingly clear.  Although his rapid-fire flow is very impressive in its consistency, he’s at his best when he slows it down a measure and allows us to hear the gravelly street in his voice.  On the Outkast inspired “On Me”, Gibbs deftly mixes up the pace of his delivery, as well as the length of the rhyme scheme.  Same goes for “Tell a Friend”, featuring Curren$y, on which Gibbs routinely changes speed within one rhyme, making “Put my brother through college on this ski mask shit, told him while he was in class I was with smokers lightin’ up glass dicks” into a cohesive bar.   Young Jeezy provides a solid spot on “Seventeen”, with a clever hook and a verse that recounts his days of drug dealing with an insomnia-addled sound, asking “14 grams in my attic, the dilla or the user, who’s really the addict?”.  Finally, DJ Mustard ends the tape with a minimal, eerie beat for "Every City", with lonely piano strokes which makes Gibbs’ play-boy lyrics seem more severe and threatening.

Baby Face Killa is definitely an enjoyable mixtape, but it’s not one that I would necessarily listen to from beginning to end.  That said, I do look forward to throwing it on when I’m in the mood for a solid, hard-core street sound.  Freddie Gibbs’ vocal abilities obscure BFK’s obvious deficiencies in most instances, but even his captivating flow isn’t enough to make me want to hear snoozers like “Krazy” and “Middle of the Night” ever again.  It’s important to remind oneself that it’s mixtape, not an album, and there is far less thought given to what is included and what isn’t.  But at it’s highest points it does a great job of showcasing an exceptionally talented rapper, and that is well worth the lows.

Best line: ““Grind til you put your moms in a new spot, on the block with the bomb it was too hot, on the block with the bomb it was so cold, sellin’ dope in the snow til’ my toes froze”, Freddie Gibbs, “Bout it Bout it”

Also worth checking out: Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album, Lupe Fiasco

Don't Give a Brit about the Sixties

Welcome to the first ever blog edition of the ‘Don’t Give a Brit’ show that airs on WRMC 91.1 FM at 1-2pm on a Thursday afternoon. I, DJ Phil the Rush, will be constructing a weekly blog post on a particular aspect of the show that we’ve touched on that week. For those of you that are unaware of the miniscule method in the monstrous madness of the ‘Don’t Give a Brit’ show; myself and my fellow British comrade are taking Middlebury College (and the surrounding area) through the briefest, most crass history of British music ever experienced. For instance, we began this week in possibly Britain’s finest musical decade – the Sixties – and in doing so completely disregarded the existence of musical acts preceding this era. Consequently, to anyone who is a big fan of Cliff Richard and the like, I hold my hands up and apologise. Quick tip though, if you walk into your local greeting card store and open up the nearest card, I can almost guarantee “Congratulations” will be blaring out of it. His famous song containing the lyrics “congratulations and celebrations/congratulations and jubilations” is a massive hit with Hallmark as inserting Cliff’s voice into the card effectively does their job for them. 

The obvious place to begin these series of British themed blogs is with what is now regarded as the British Invasion of the 1960s. British musical artists completely dominated global airwaves during the decade and Beatlemania spread internationally and most famously in the US. On 4^th April 1964 for example, The Beatle’s occupied each top five position in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in a feat that has not been matched since. Their easy-listening popular sound was a breath of fresh-air for US listeners who longed for a change in the nation’s musical direction.

It did not end there for the British music industry; The Beatles were soon to be followed by the successes of The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clarke Five, Donovan, The Animals, the timeless, never-ageing Tom Jones and many many more. This arguably cumulated on 8^th May 1965. On this date, the US Billboard top 10 was made up of entirely British acts in all but one position. The contemporary British music industry, through such auto-tuned, anti-poetic, mainstream pop acts as The Wanted, Jessie J and One Direction would be lucky to even reach the periphery of this famous top 10. I’m not even going to subject my fingers to typing about Cher Lloyd’s musical ‘contribution’… Alas, I digress. 

This onslaught of British music was mainly caused by British youth’s real feel for the rock-and-roll idiom and anyone-can-play aspect of the Skittle craze from across the Atlantic in the decade before them. These charming invaders tinkered with American rock-and-roll music and returned it to within its borders – redressed and restyled – to a generation largely ignorant of its historical and racial origins. For example, “The House of The Rising Sun” shot to top spot in the US in September, 1964 and was the first British Invasion number one not to be connected to The Beatles. However, what is fascinating is that it was a re-jigged traditional American folk song from the 18^th Century. The smoke screen that was placed over this evident American influence is part of the reason why the British Invasion was so creative and intricate.

However, it would be wrong to assume that these British acts were carbon-copies of each other and/or shared distinctive and similar sounds. Take The Rolling Stones for example; Jagger, Richards and co. did not follow the same popular music sound as their other successful British compatriots. The Rolling Stones were a more dark, unusual and less parentally accepted band that explicitly made their blues and African-American influence known – an American musical style that had largely been ignored by the mass US population. The name of the band, the shorthand of their character, was taken from “Rollin’ Stone,” a song by the African-American blues musician Muddy Walters. Likewise, Mick Jagger evidently modelled his trademark dance moves on minstrelsy shows of the late 19^th Century and early 20^th Century.

Regardless of which musical direction these British bands went in, they undoubtedly helped cement the now conventional formation of the rock band – with guitars and drums at the forefront. These acts revolutionised music during the most culturally changing era of recent history. Their presence today is as real as ever, with The Rolling Stones arguably the most sought after live band after inspiring generation after generation.

Songs to check out: Literally anything by The Beatles and The Stones; Dave Clark Five “Because”; Donovan “Sunshine Superman”; The Animals “The House of The Rising Sun” and if you must, Tom Jones “It’s Not Unusual.” Plus, any of the tracks from the ‘Don’t Give a Brit’ playlist this week located at http://wrmc.middlebury.edu/playlists/16626.

In Thursday’s show we will be covering one half of the British 1970s, as there is just simply too much material to cover in a one-hour sitting. You’ll get another blog post from me within the next fortnight about an aspect of this fascinating decade, which, believe it or not, contains way more famous material than the Sixties and touches on many more musical bases. These include: Progressive Rock, Glam Rock, Heavy Metal, Glam Rock, Synth Rock; plus many more!      

          

Math in Words

'Math in Words’ is a fortnightly series tracing the development of math rock through the 90s. In the first installment the focus is on Slint’s 1991 record, Spiderland.

Math rock as a genre largely eludes a definitive exposition; critics generally apply the term when left scratching their heads and finding themselves unable to make comparisons to more familiar styles and structures. Fans are equally ambivalent; any entry on YouTube titled ‘math song’ is more often than not burdened by users commenting on what makes the song distinctively ‘not math’ without offering any elucidation on the subject.  Paradoxically, many of the musicians frequently associated with the genre are as reluctant to accept the term; instead turning it into something of esoteric joke. Writing about individuals who are suspicious of such journalism is just another irony I have to accept as part of this project.

Such frustrations ultimately deny a conventional study of the genre and insist on a more abstract approach. I figure the most logical way to do so would be to have a broad view of the principle characteristics of the bands I will be documenting. These include the use of, but are not limited to: asymmetrical time signatures, idiosyncratic structures, and a privileging of instruments over voice.

In fortnightly installments I hope to assess as chronologically as possible the more accessible records which contributed to the movement whilst still alluding to those which however formative may be considered difficult, or, in some instances, ‘unlistenable’. As tracing the genre through its many antecedents would require a vast, labyrinthine casebook, I’m instead going to focus more specifically on the bands which emerged in the early 90s as I consider this loose collective to be of particular importance when attempting to reach some kind of answer to the question of what math rock is.

To begin unraveling the subject I’ve decided to take a look at Slint’s second and final record, Spiderland. Released in 1991, the record possesses all the hallmarks of what is often considered a truly math rock record: The guitars oscillate between angular rhythms and scratchy riffs, the time signatures are often irregular, and the dynamics shift in a totally unpredictable way. The complexity of each song’s architecture demands total engagement; I tried to listen to it whilst writing this piece and just found myself unable to divide my attention.

Produced by Brian Paulson, the record reflects his raw, live approach to recording which makes for a far more natural sound than the mechanical rigidity of many new rock bands. The production led Steve Albini, the producer of their first effort, Tweeze, to suggest that “The crystalline guitar of Brian McMahan and the glassy, fluid guitar of David Pajo seem to hover in space directly past the listener's nose. The incredibly precise-yet-instinctive drumming has the same range and wallop it would in your living room.”

Released under Chicago’s Touch and Go Records (a self-published zine turned label only ten years prior to Spiderland’s production), Slint joined the indie roster responsible for the likes of Big Black, The Jesus Lizard, and Don Caballero; three bands whose involvement in the progression of math rock is indisputable, not matter who says otherwise.  

Spanning less than forty minutes and totaling only six tracks, the record serves as a veritable model for the genre. Each track is replete with dichotomies: mumbling spoken word narratives to rasping yells, melodic chiming guitars to discordant and distorted stabs, ambient instrumental sections to crowded vocal arrangements. Piero Scaruffi describes them as “masterpieces in rock history… Leveraging from experiments of preceding years, Slint is now completing a more sophisticated search on rhythm and resonance, culminating in an almost transcendental quality”, an accurate statement.

The album artwork is equally unsettling; the members all treading water in black and white, offering what many music journalists may describe as a “brooding extension of the album’s existential angst”. Really it is just a reflection of the band’s autonomy and their investment in every faucet of the record’s production. It may not be your traditional ‘concept album’, but it certainly offers some continuity in everything from artwork, linear notes, and the songs themselves. The band’s self-awareness is evident in the, “this recording is meant to be listened to on vinyl” stickers they included as part of the CD release; it is this kind of engagement with the listener which heightens the intensity and personal feeling of the record.

Whilst truly innovative in more ways than one, the record it is not without its debts. The narratives McMahan delivers in Good Morning, Captain and Breadcrumb Trail are entirely reminiscent of Sonic Youth’s Goo, released only the year before. The guitar arrangements sound at their cleanest to borrow from early Gang of Four records, and at their heaviest, Black Sabbath in drop-tuning.

Spiderland has in more recent years acquired the critical reception it rightly deserves. Whilst largely ignored upon its initial release (which great records aren’t?) it now ranks highly in respected music publications when charting records which actually changed the musical landscape. The band’s limited output of only two records is unfortunate, but no less defining as a consequence. Evidence of Slint’s influence can be seen in the works of JUNE OF 44, Polvo, and Drive like Jehu; three bands credited in equal measure for their involvement on the math rock scene of the 90s. More recent traces can be heard in Mogwai, This Will Destroy You, and 65daysofstatic. As I can think of no conclusion more fitting than that of Steve Albini, I will quote him again here, which is to say, “Play this record and kick yourself if you never got to see them live."

-Oliver Pearson

Cruel Summer, Kanye West and G.O.O.D Music, 9/18

Welcome to the premiere of This Far, a column which I'll be writing every two weeks here on the WRMC blog and moving over to the new website once it airs on the web.  In this column,  I will be reviewing a recently released hip-hop album, with the occasional mixtape thrown in, in an attempt to help you wade through the flood of beats and bars that hit the internet everyday, so that you only listen to the dopest of the dope.  I will be reviewing a range of albums, from the obscure to the mainstream, from the socially-conscious to the Ciroc-and-kush-induced unconsciousness.  If you have any requests, suggestions, complaints or props for This Far, please give me a shout over email, or on Twitter, @LukeAdirondack.

To kick things off, I'm going to be taking a look at Cruel Summer, the long anticipated collabo album coming out of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. (Getting Our Our Dreams) Music label, a subsidiary of Island Def Jam.  Kanye founded the label in 2004 and has been accumulating an increasingly impressive roster of signees ever since.  Cruel Summer, which dropped on Tuesday after several delays, features many of these artists, both producers and rappers, in a posse album whose members seem to have little in common other than thick ol' stacks.

Previously unreleased “To The World” kicks things off (two of the listed producers have the $ symbol as part of their professional names), and, bizarre R. Kelly hook and all, it sets a pretty representative tone for Cruel Summer.  The heavy beat with dramatic swaths of piano and pounding percussion give the track sort of brave new world sound; granted, a world in which the self-proclaimed "God of rap"(Kanye) can compare himself to Francis Ford Coppola and criticize Mitt Romney in the same breath.  This leads into the four big singles, with which most hip-hop followers will already be familiar, "Clique", "Mercy", "New God Flow", and "Cold", with new release "The Morning" thrown in.  As might have been guessed, these four tracks hold as the highlights of the album.  "Clique" overcomes a bit of an obnoxious Big Sean hook with solid verses from Sean, Jay-Z, and 'Ye, as well as a banging, varied beat from the red hot Hit-Boy(of "Niggas in Paris" fame).  "Mercy" reminds why it was unequivocally the official summer jam of 2012. "New God Flow" features great verses from Pusha T, formerly of Clipse, and Ghostface Killah, while Kanye takes self-worship to astronomical new levels.  This trend continues on "Cold", on which Kanye professes his love for Kim Kardashian (the song first leaked in the Spring), and the fact that the two are now together seems to confirm "Cold"'s message: if 'Ye can say it, 'Ye can get it.  Unfortunately, from there the album seriously falls off.  Another great Hit-Boy beat is wasted by The-Dream's horrible hook on "Higher", and mundane, "promised Kanye I would appear on this one" spots by Common and John Legend provide only disappointment.  Low-level G.O.O.D memebers, such as CyHi the Prynce, Teyana Taylor and D'banj bring very little to the table. "The One" provides a bright spot; in fact, it is probably the track on the album that most recalls College Dropout and Late Registration Kanye, both in production, flow, and lyrical content.  Big Sean and 2 Chainz provide good support, especially Chainz, who impresses with a surprisingly reflective verse.  Finally, the posse remix of Chief Keef's "Don't Like" is tacked on, sounding ridiculous after John Legend's, wind-chime laced "Bliss".  Still a banger, but absurdly placed.

However, it feels almost appropriate that Cruel Summer should end with such an ill-fitting song that was clearly included because Kanye and crew like it.  The album is chiefly about self-indulgence, both in its musical choices and in the lifestyle that the music celebrates.  Part of that indulgence is not catering to the expectations of old-school Kanye fans.  The album's heavier beats don't resonate with his early work, nor does the intensely ostentatious boasting.  This is no longer a man lamenting his basket-weaving course.  That, in the end, is the value of Cruel Summer; it represents one of the musical geniuses of our time celebrating the ability to make whatever music he wants, and to put on whomever he wants.  That being said, I wouldn't blame you for standing pat if you've already downloaded the major tracks.  I don't think 'Yeezy will mind.

Best line: “My girl a superstar all from a home movie!”-Kanye, "Clique".

Also worth checking out: Shoot Me or Salute Me 4, Waka Flocka Flame (Mixtape)

Interview with Conduits

I recently had a conversation with Jenna Morrison, lead singer of the Omaha-based band Conduits. We talked about the formation of the hazy, shoegazy quintet, and their debut, self-titled LP, released this past March. We also touched on bringing the raw energy of live performance to the recording studio, and an epic Godspeed You Black Emperor! show.

WRMC: I’ve never been to Omaha, or even Nebraska, but I'm wondering if your hometown had some influence on your sound?

Jenna Morrison of Conduits: Not on the surface. I'm sure there is some influence because we've been around it so much, but our sound is definitely not really like anything else around here. There are a lot of really great bands coming out of Omaha and Lincoln. We definitely strive to be good and seeing musicians playing well and making great music pushes us to do the same.

WRMC: How has your music experience in the past and songwriting in the past influenced what you're doing with Conduits?

JM: I got together with Nate and JJ and… in our general vibe we just instantly meshed. It just came kind of natural to us. That probably sounds kind of cheesy, but really the general vibe of the stuff that I used to write and the stuff we're doing now is kind of the same.

WRMC: It makes total sense that if you found some guys you jived with, that would come into something. Since Omaha's influences didn't necessarily do so much for you, what did you listen to growing up and when you started your musical career? If that's not particularly relevant, who has been relevant as an influence for conduits?

JM: Each band member has different influences, so it’s kind of a hard question to answer. As far as the band goes I would say Spiritualized, My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead. There's quite a few.

WRMC: Have you guys felt like you've learned anything in the process of being on tour and being exposed to other musicians? I’m wondering what you guys have picked up in that process, and if during that process you've realized things that you would like to change from the first album, and how you might like to move forward in the future?

JM: I would say that it definitely helped shape a little bit how we perform live. I think that playing every day has made us all more comfortable with who are and what we do on stage without having to put thought into it. That I feel has been really beneficial. I wish we could play shows every day, all the time, honestly. As far as our sound goes…The way I sing things live and the way I sing on the album sometimes differs a little bit. And that might come out a little bit more in the next album.

WRMC: What exactly is the difference between your voice when you're singing live and on the album? How might that style you have live come out on the next album?  

JM: You probably noticed on the album that there’s a lot of instrumentation on the songs. The band has a tendency to get pretty loud, and sometimes, live, I have to sing louder than I do on the album, just to come across. I think, on the next album, I'd like to have more songs where I'm a little bit less demure, slightly more rock n’ roll.  

WRMC: Interesting to hear how the live shows opened up new avenues for you by virtue of you being forced to sing over your bandmates.

JM: Yeah, out of necessity. I'd like that to come across more in the recordings the next time around.

WRMC: Can you tell me a little bit about your personal background and how that's fed into this music and the part you played in creating this first album. What your role was in the creative process.

JM: I mean for the last, I don't know, I guess probably nine years, I've been playing in bands or singing in bands, mostly backup vocals. Eventually I became a backup vocalist for Son, Ambulance, which I feel opened up a lot of avenues for me. I did that on and off for years, but in-between there were other projects that I worked on and recorded for and wrote for. I don't know, I would either drop the ball, or lose or interest, or something wouldn't vibe well with me and you’d kinda, you know, move on. Nothing really ever stuck for me previous to this band. And then of course I met Nate and JJ and instantly jelled super well with their style and what they wanted to do. It made perfect sense. 

WRMC: What are some landmark bands that helped shape what you wanted your sound to be like.

JM: I remember I went to a Godspeed You Black Emperor! show when I must have been seventeen or something like that. That show really hit me in a certain way. The vibe of the music, the feeling I guess, definitely geared me more towards the type of music that we are making now: stuff that's moody, almost emotional without being like outright lyrically emotional– just kind of powerful music.

Their music is almost droning without actually being droning. I just remember being at this show and kind of feeling completely overtaken by the music.

WRMC: So what are you guys thinking about the future? What's your timeline looking like for this next album, if you have one at this point?

JM: People would like to have a new album out by next summer. I know we'll be recording stuff as soon as possible.

WRMC: It was cool to hear that you had played for so long and it took you finding a couple of guys who were doing the same kind of thing you wanted to do in order to come together and make a full-length album that you're happy with.

JM: It feels really good. I feel really fortunate that I've been able to make music with these guys.