Crystal Castles

It just may be a good thing that Toronto, ON duo Crystal Castles remain so (anti-) image conscious, as Alice Glass and Ethan Kath have once again funnelled their CrimethInc. mentality into 14 unapologetic, albeit hyper-aware, songs. Lead single "Celestica" contains some of the band's gentlest melodies to date, with Glass cooing over a beat that's more Saint Etienne than Saint Vitus. Of course, "Celestica" is book-ended by "Fainting Spells" and "Doe Deer," two of the LP's most disharmonious speaker crackers. "Baptism," "Birds" and "Pap Smear" continue with their bipolar formula of perverted beauty, like admiring the crimson colour of your blood after a bout of self-mutilation. "Year of Silence" works off of stuttering Sigur Rós samples and "Not in Love" is a Platinum Blonde cover, proof that the band don't totally exist in a pop culture-free vacuum. Crystal Castles is a captivating follow-up by a band that deserve all the praise critics can dish, not that they care about such things.