Crystal Castles were an experimental / electronic band which formed in 200… Read Full Bio ↴Crystal Castles were an experimental / electronic band which formed in 2003 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and last consisted of Ethan Kath and vocalist Edith Frances. Alice Glass served as the lead vocalist for the group since its foundation until 2014.

They are named after the lyrics "The fate of the world is safe in Crystal Castles" and "Crystal Castles, the source of all power" both from the theme song for She-Ra's fortress. They are known for their melancholic lo-fi sound and their explosive live shows. Their debut album was included in NME's "Top 50 Albums of the Decade".

Initially the band was intended to be a solo project started by Ethan Kath in December 2003. Ethan later discovered Alice Glass singing in a noise-punk band, and thought he had found the "missing ingredient" to his music.

In 2004 Kath gave Alice 60 instrumental tracks and in April 2005 she recorded vocals over five instrumentals. The limited vinyl release of the band's first single Alice Practice sold out in only three days.

The track was a microphone test by Glass and she was not aware that the recording existed until London UK's Merok Records asked to release the track on vinyl, according to now ex-bandmate Kath. However, Glass declared over a decade later that this story was not true.

On the 18th March 2008 they released their debut album entitled Crystal Castles. This album reached #47 on UK Albums Chart, #6 on US Top Electronic Albums, #13 on US Top Heatseekers, and #32 on US Independent Albums. Crystal Castles received great reviews and ranked #39 on NME Magazine "Top 50 Albums of the Decade". They issued four singles: Alice Practice (1 June 2006), Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs HEALTH) (13 August 2007), Air War (17 December 2007), and Courtship Dating (31 March 2008).

Crystal Castles are known not only for their own efforts as a band, but also for commissioned remixes for number of groups, including Hunting For Witches by Bloc Party, and Atlantis to Interzone by friends and label mates, Klaxons.

In mid-2008, Crystal Castles were involved in two controversies related to artwork permissions and samples in their earliest unreleased songs. Crystal Castles used Trevor Brown's artwork (depicting singer Madonna with a black eye) without permission.

Furthermore, in one of Kath's earliest, unreleased demos, he incorporated a sample without permission. The track, "Insectica (CC vs Lo-Bat Version)", uses clips chopped out of a song by Lo-bat called "My Little Droid Needs a Hand", released under a Creative Commons license. Another track called "Love and Caring", samples the kick and snare from Covox's "Sunday".

In 23 April 2010 the duo released their second album Crystal Castles (II). This album reached #48 on UK Singles Chart, #8 on UK Dance Albums Chart, #24 on US Digital Albums, #6 on US Top Electronic Albums, and #3 on US Top Heatseekers. Crystal Castles (II) has been met with mostly positive reviews from critics. To date, four singles were issued: Doe Deer, Celestica and Baptism, and a new version of the track Not In Love which featured Robert Smith of The Cure on vocals.

This became their biggest hit to date, charting in a great amount of countries including a #3 in Belgium (Flanders), a #31 in Denmark and various notable placements on official alternative music charts. "Not In Love", which is a cover of a Platinum Blonde song of the same name, was also featured in various television shows (including "Degrassi") and the popular football simulation videogame FIFA 12.

The band toured throughout 2010 in the US and abroad and played the Reading and Leeds Festivals and Glastonbury Festival in the UK and Big Day Out in Australia. In February 2011, the band will perform on the NME Awards Tour

The band's third album, (III) was released on November 21, 2012. The album contains the singles "Plague", "Wrath of God", and "Sad Eyes".

On October 8th 2014 it was announced on then lead singer Alice Glass' Twitter that she was leaving the band, and that the group would end. However, Crystal Castles' manager immediately reported that the band would continue, and on April 15th, 2015, Ethan Kath shared a new track titled Frail on SoundCloud, writing 'this is Edith on vocals', implying that fellow musician Edith Frances was Crystal Castles' new lead vocalist, which was in fact the case.

On 2 July 2015, another new song, Deicide, was released as a single. A new version of Deicide was later released on the album under the title Their Kindness is Charade.

In late November 2015, Edith Frances played her first show as the other half of Crystal Castles in South Africa.

In the last week of June 2016, the track Concrete was leaked on Korean website MNet. The track was later released as a single on July 6 with an accompanying video Video on the same day on YouTube.

On June 29, the band previewed a new track Femen with a teaser of the music Video showing birds caught and struggling in mist nets via Vimeo.

On July 11, the band announced the new record, Amnesty (I) along with its cover art and track list and also premiering Char as Annie Mac's Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1.
The single and pre-order for the album were made available a day later on July 12.

The fourth, and last pre-order single Fleece was made available on August 16 at the band's iTunes page.

Another single titled Sadist was released on August 18, followed by the official release of the album on August 19, 2016. Track Sadist was followed by Edith's message announced on CC official Facebook page.

On their official website CC announced that all band's proceeds from Amnesty (I) album will be donated to Amnesty International. New album Vinyl and CD includes bonus track Kept.

http://www.crystalcastles.com

Various sources have reported that, as of 2018, Crystal Castles remains in a hiatus with no signs of new material coming in the near future.

Mother Knows Best
Crystal Castles Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Feel her tight between my thighs from across the football field
It's victory that I smell inside and the smell contains no guilt
H.E.R.P.E.S. I can smell them through her dress
H.E.R.P.E.S. My daddy's wrong, mother knows best
C C C is for cunt, there's a sickness inside that I need to harvest
Broken tramp, have you seen her, I tried to love but now I'll beat her
H.E.R.P.E.S. I can smell them through her dress
H.E.R.P.E.S. Your daddy's wrong, mother knows best

She's the one who brings me to life when I stab her with my hunting knife

Broken tramp, have you seen her, I tried to love but now I've beat her

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Crystal Castles's song "Mother Knows Best" are incredibly dark and disturbing. The song seems to be about a twisted relationship between two people, with the singer expressing their fascination with the idea of hurting someone else. The first verse suggests that the singer is watching a girl from across a football field and can smell "victory" on her. This victory could be a metaphor for sexual conquest, with "tight between my thighs" implying that the singer is imagining having sex with her. However, the mention of herpes implies that the singer is feeling conflicted about their desires and is worried about the risks of sexually transmitted diseases.

The second verse takes a darker turn, with the singer describing the girl as a "broken tramp" and expressing a desire to "beat her". The lyrics are incredibly violent and disturbing, with the singer seeming to revel in the idea of causing harm to another person. The line "She's the one who brings me to life when I stab her with my hunting knife" is especially chilling, suggesting that the singer gets a thrill out of violence.

Overall, the lyrics to "Mother Knows Best" paint a picture of a deeply disturbed individual who is obsessed with inflicting harm on others. The lyrics are graphic and unsettling, and the song is not for the faint of heart.

Line by Line Meaning

Feel her tight between my thighs from across the football field
I am attracted to this person from a distance and I feel a sense of excitement about potentially being with them.

It's victory that I smell inside and the smell contains no guilt
I feel triumphant about the possibility of being with this person, and there is no sense of wrongdoing or guilt associated with that feeling.

H.E.R.P.E.S. I can smell them through her dress
I suspect that this person has a sexually transmitted infection (herpes) and can detect it through her clothing.

H.E.R.P.E.S. My daddy's wrong, mother knows best
Although my father has warned me about the dangers of STIs, I believe my mother's advice that I should pursue my desires without concern for the consequences.

C C C is for cunt, there's a sickness inside that I need to harvest
I have a perverse desire to engage in sexual activity and take pleasure in objectifying this person as a source of that pleasure.

Broken tramp, have you seen her, I tried to love but now I'll beat her
I have mistreated this person in the past, and even though I once loved them, I am now willing to resort to violence.

She's the one who brings me to life when I stab her with my hunting knife
I derive pleasure from causing harm to this person, even to the point of using a weapon to do so.

Contributed by Sydney G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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