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.
Tell Me What To Swallow
Crystal Castles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know he'd never hurt me
Daddy watch me sleeping
Praying for you silently
Daddy's love makes me whole
Without him, I'm insecure
The only girl he'd ever love
The lyrics in Crystal Castles's song Tell Me What to Swallow describe a dysfunctional relationship between a daughter and her father. The opening line suggests that the daughter feels like her father is controlling her life, and she's moving through it like a walking zombie. However, she quickly reassures herself that her daddy would never intentionally hurt her. She goes on to describe how her father used to watch her sleep and silently pray for her, which could be viewed as a loving act, but in the context of the song, it seems creepy and possessive.
The chorus of the song talks about the daughter's sleepwalking habit, which her father enables by letting her walk without him. She feels secure with him, but it's implied that he's the reason she has to sleepwalk. The last two lines of the chorus suggest that the daughter believes she's the only girl her father hasn't hurt and that she smells pure. It's unclear what exactly the daughter means by that, but it's clear that she's trying to find some positive qualities in her relationship with her father.
Overall, the lyrics in Tell Me What to Swallow paint a disturbing picture of a daughter trapped in an unhealthy relationship with her father. The song's title adds to the disturbing tone, suggesting that the daughter is asking her father to tell her what to do, even if it includes swallowing something dangerous.
Line by Line Meaning
Through the walking, through me
Amidst the haze of confusion, I can see that he is always by my side
I know he'd never hurt me
I believe in his words and actions, he would never cause me harm
Daddy watched me sleeping
When I am vulnerable, he stands guard and keeps me safe
And pray silently
He hopes for my well-being and peace of mind, even if it means sacrificing his own
Daddy's let me sleepwalk
He allows me to wander in my dreams and explore my subconscious without judgment or restraint
Without him I am secure
He is my stability and foundation, and without him, I would be lost and unprotected
The only girl he'd never hurt
I am special to him, and he would never intentionally cause me pain or suffering
The one who smells so pure
He admires my innocence and purity, and cherishes my essence as a person
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alice Glass, Ethan Kath
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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