Crystal Castles [II]

There is a lot to like about this album. It's cool as a frozen cucumber, while still managing to be lively and energising. Celestica will make you feel like you are cucooned in spider's silk, or like you are Lot's wife turned to a pillar of salt and completely mute. It is seductive and suffocating at the same time. On the other end of the spectrum, Baptism is an angry, ripping musical eqivalent of Van Gogh chopping his own ear off, and is quite brilliant.However, there are some duff notes. Fainting Spells is terrible as an opening track. It may be intended as something 'experimental' and 'edgy', but it just comes across as a load of annoying, screechy noise. It is not a pleasant or enlightening experience to be thrust into an album with bleeding ears and general confusion. On the other hand, Not in Love is easy, polished listening but makes one feel slightly cheated. It is all shimmer and no substance. The other problem with the album is that, although there are a lot of good tracks, and although some consideration has gone into the ordering of the tracks (Unlike in [I]), it doesn't feel like a coherent whole. Crystal Castles only manage that in [III]. [II] is a collection of songs, some of them very good, that have some connection to one another but do not form a single body of work.That said, it is definitely an album worth listening to, and I would recommend it.

Amazing album, disappointed it doesn't have the not in love with Robert Smith, however that wasnt on the original anyway, just incase anyone buying it hopes it on there like I did!

It's pretty experimental but I've been a big fan of Crystal Castles for a while. Not the thing all your friends would necessarily enjoy however! It's not easy listening

Vinyl delivered super quick and packaging was good. Love the album since the day I heard it years back and have been wanting it on vinyl a while. Very happy

ok

Disc 2, sids C and D are both badly pressed. songs dont play well and the needle gets stuck. Disc 1 works fine

I Reseached this band on YouTube before committing to buying the album and i was not disappointed. the other tracks on the album make for a good purchase!

I first saw Crystal Castles in a Skins episode a few years ago and instantly loved the harsh completely unique styling of their music.Their first self titled album brought together some very indistinguishable sounds that you would never have heard anything like before. From the powerful Alice Practice to the travelling conceptual nature of courtship dating the American duo combined sharp dance with methodical lyrics.This follow up contains similar vibes that consistent of the same electronic genre and this time with more understandable agendas.Some of the best tracks are Celestica, Baptism, Pap smear and Vietnam. All bringing back that wonderful dance styling from the first album and when on Jools Holland Celestica for me was made even better.This album unlike the previous release took a while to get into as certain songs were not as inviting into their world. The opening to 'I am made of chalk' is rather strange at first, Doe deer is exceptionally eccentric and the feeling is more forced rather than chilled.Nevertheless once you understand the band taking on this new style you can appreciate how they've accomplished justifying the dance genre. The tracks flow consistently like the first album and whilst the first is sharper this has some cracking numbers that, if you were a fan of their first album, are certainly worth checking out.8/10

Este álbum en particular es de mis favoritos, es muy interesante además de que posee elementos experimentales y punks, sin dejar de lado el lado transgresor de Crystal Castles. La portada me parece muy interesante y acorde al estilo sombrío y pop del álbum.

Un disco que fascina por chocante: su baja fidelidad y su intención cuasi-punk convierten a este álbum en un clásico moderno de la electrónica alternativa. Es oscuro, retorcido y violento, pero también celebratorio. Sus beats tienen una energía casi sexual que se baila, se suda y se disfruta de modo salvaje. No nos dejemos engañar por el nombre de la banda, esto no es música cristalina; ni en la composición, ni en la intención, ni en la producción. Esto es música desde las vísceras, y no apela al intelecto sino al instinto. Para mí, un diez absoluto.

¡Excelente disco! el álbum musicalmente vale mucho la pena; sobre todo si te gusta la electrónica oscura. Muy recomendado.El paquete llegó antes de tiempo, lo cual siempre es excelente y se agradece. Como quiera, ojo para los coleccionistas o puristas, la funda interior de papel venía un poco maltratada. No es significativo, porque el vinil se escucha de maravilla.

Per chi come me è collezionista di dvd fisici, e per chi come me è amante di questo genere. Questo dvd è un prodotto ben fatto. Io l'ho aggiunto alla mia collezione

Es un gran album de los CC (Tal vez el mejor). El disco en formato de doble vinil tiene un excelente sonido y gran calidad, le pongo 4 estrellas porque la rola "Not in love" no es la versión con R. Smith y no lo dice en ningún lado.