About Crystal Castles
Hometown
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Formed
2006
Genre
Electronic
Known for their chaotic live shows and glitchy, abrasive, Atari-inspired sounds, the Canadian electronic duo Crystal Castles became blog darlings in the late 2000s.
• Ethan Kath and Alice Glass first teamed up in 2006, after the former supposedly began messing around with the sound chip from an Atari 5200. Their first song, the cacophonous “Alice Practice,” soon found an audience online and became the title track of the duo’s limited-release 2006 debut EP.
• After building a substantial buzz, Crystal Castles released their self-titled debut album in 2008. Comprising unreleased early songs, previously released singles, and new material, the album reached No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and made the Top 50 on the UK pop chart.
• The group’s 2010 sophomore album, (II), features Cure frontman Robert Smith on a cover of the Canadian New Wave band Platinum Blonde’s early-’80s single “Not In Love.” In the US, the gothy earworm went Top 20 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Song Sales chart and reached No. 24 on Alternative Airplay.
• Crystal Castles decamped to Berlin and Warsaw to record their third album, 2012’s (III). Based around the theme of oppression, the album reached No. 77 on the Billboard 200—the highest US placement of the group’s career.
• Glass left the band in 2014 and began releasing solo material the following year. In a 2017 online posting, she accused Kath of years of physical and emotional abuse. Kath denied the allegations and sued for defamation. The case was dismissed in 2018.
• Kath recruited a new singer, Edith Frances, for Crystal Castles’ fourth album, 2016’s Amnesty (I).
Members of Crystal Castles include, or have included, Alice Glass.
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