Pitchfork

Named for She-Ra's palace (and not the Atari video game), Toronto duo Crystal Castles have remixes (Klaxons, Goodbooks, Bloc Party, etc) scattered across MySpace like a field of dead soldiers. Not bad for a band who, according to an interview with blog BiBBiDi, formed by accident, chose a name at random, hate performing, and never practice.

Last year the pair (who go by Alice and Ethin only) released a limited edition EP on Merok Records, which begins with the track "Alice Practice", a song constructed, literally, from Alice testing out the band's new mics. It wasn't supposed to be a song at all, until Ethin posted it on (yup) MySpace, sparking the attention of 8-bit noise addicts across the world.

That 7" also included the fantastic "Air War", a track they list as being slated for a 2009 release. Seems about right: Alice's vocals are doubled and layered into stuttering, ebullient outbursts, reminiscent of Luciano Berio's "Thema (Omaggio a Joyce)", atop slaughtered electronics that pop like soap bubbles.

MP3: > Crystal Castles: "Air War"
[from Alice Practice EP, out now on Merok Records]

But Crystal Castles are arguably even more deft at remixes. On this reworking of the Little Ones' "Lovers Who Uncover", CC crinkle up the band's bombastic smooth dream-pop like tin foil, then smooth it back out. It's also slowed down to reveal every crack and pop in its fragile structure, while sawing analog keyboards keep its pulsing pace. The remix makes changes that both reveal the inherent sadness inside every love song, and strengthen the courage it takes to share those sentiments.

MP3: > Crystal Castles vs. The Little Ones: "Lovers Who Uncover"
[from the Little Ones' "Oh MJ" single; due 01/29/07 on Heavenly] | [ORDER NOW]