Asked to describe their aesthetic, Crystal Castles dynamo Alice Glass says, “large, shiny chunks of vomit.” Vomit, like a kaleidoscope, is composed of infinite particles, diamond cut molecules coated in acid, a chaotic masterpiece as revolting as it is beautiful and raw. That’s pretty much true of CC’s debut album. Producer Ethan Fawn’s dynamic overlays of crisp, factory-stomped melodic lines carry Glass’s unintelligible lyrics straight to neon-lit nausea heaven. It seems she managed to swallow a megaphone and regurgitates something about feelings. At times she sounds sad, trapped in She-ra’s digital fortress in the sky. In “Knights” and “Love & Caring,” there is heartfelt dour in her bounce, as the skip in her step is dragged across sharp spikes. Ethan, the man behind the synthesizer, appears to be carving out his own mix of tragedy and uppity beat munching. “Untrust Us” finely mixes sweet with acerbic to lead off the album before launching us into a merry-go-round of loose screws and tight vignettes of meditative coleslaw. Then he brings the tempo back down on “Crime-wave,” characteristically hunched over his microphone to deliver a club-taste for that 5 AM sensation of lonely romanticism. But whether he sings about “short breasts” or “breaths” is a mystery. The final track, “Tell Me What To Swallow” is a shocker, quite opposite of the nauseating loveliness in a frenzied tune like “Through the Hosiery” or “XXZXCUZX Me.” The drippy eye-makeup of “Swallow,” a guitar-strummed lullaby in which Alice hums and croons ethereally, is almost more gut-churning for being so damn poppy. Undoubtedly, this album makes swimming in a barf bag a great idea.
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