Crystal Castles II
Studio album by
Crystal Castles
ReleasedApril 23, 2010 (2010-04-23)
Genre
Length52:54
Label
Producer
Crystal Castles chronology
Crystal Castles
(2008)		 Crystal Castles II
(2010)		 III
(2012)
Singles from Crystal Castles II
  1. "Celestica"
    Released: April 17, 2010
  2. "Baptism"
    Released: July 26, 2010
  3. "Not in Love"
    Released: October 26, 2010

Crystal Castles II is the second studio album by Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles, released on May 24, 2010 by Fiction Records and Last Gang Records.[4][5] The album was initially scheduled for release on June 7, 2010; however, the release dates were moved forward after the album leaked online, thus a digital version of the album was released on April 23, 2010.

On April 25, 2011, the album was reissued digitally under the title (II), which replaced the original version of "Not in Love" with the version featuring Robert Smith (of the Cure).[6]

Background

Crystal Castles II was recorded by Ethan Kath in a variety of locations including an abandoned church in Iceland, a self-built cabin in northern Ontario, a garage behind an abandoned drug store in Detroit, as well as Paul Epworth's London studio.[7] Of the experience, Kath said, "I recorded most of the record in the coldest winter in decades in a church without heat in Iceland. It was so cold that when I listen back I can hear myself shivering. I chose it because it felt right".[8] In December 2009, Kath gave vocalist Alice Glass a CD-R containing 70 instrumental tracks, for which she then recorded vocals on 35 tracks.

In order to promote the album, the band released the first single "Celestica" in April followed by an EP titled Doe Deer that was released only a few days later. In May the band physically released the album. The album reached number 48 on the UK Albums Chart and number 188 on the US Billboard 200.[9][10] Later on in December, the duo's cover of the Platinum Blonde song "Not in Love", featuring guest vocals from Robert Smith of the Cure, was released as the album's third single. The single became Crystal Castles' highest-charting single to date.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[11]
Metacritic77/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Billboard[14]
The Guardian[15]
Los Angeles Times[16]
NME7/10[17]
Pitchfork8.5/10[18]
Q[19]
Spin8/10[20]
The Times[21]
Uncut[22]

Crystal Castles II received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 24 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[12] Daniel Brockman of The Boston Phoenix praised the band for creating "a dense-yet-airy thicket of pure pop transcendence." MusicOMH also gave an extremely positive review, describing the album as "bold, dramatic, more than a little screwed-up and stunningly exciting statement." Pitchfork rated the album 8.5 out of 10, and awarded it their "Best New Music" accolade.

Commercial performance

As of July 2012, Crystal Castles and Crystal Castles II had sold a combined 174,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[23]

Accolades

The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.[24]

Publication List Rank
Drowned in Sound Albums of the Year 2010[25] 18
MusicOMH Top 50 Albums of 2010[26] 33
NME 75 Best Albums of 2010[27] 31
Pitchfork The Top 50 Albums of 2010[28] 34
The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010–2014)[2] 65
PopMatters The 70 Best Albums of 2010[29] 51
Rough Trade Albums of the Year (2010)[30] 35
Slant Magazine The 25 Best Albums of 2010[31] 6
Spin The 40 Best Albums of 2010[32] 21
Stereogum Top 50 Albums of 2010[33] 12

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Fainting Spells"
Kath2:44
2."Celestica"
  • Kath
  • Glass
3:48
3."Doe Deer"
  • Kath
  • Glass
Kath1:38
4."Baptism"
  • Kath
  • Glass
  • Luke Leeder
4:13
5."Year of Silence"
Kath4:54
6."Empathy"
  • Kath
  • Glass
  • Kath
  • Alex Bonenfant
4:11
7."Suffocation"
  • Kath
  • Glass
  • Kath
  • Lee
4:02
8."Violent Dreams"
Kath4:35
9."Vietnam"
  • Kath
  • Nordenstam
  • Kath
  • Lee
5:08
10."Birds"
  • Kath
  • Glass
Kath2:31
11."Pap Smear"
  • Kath
  • Glass
Kath3:43
12."Not in Love"Mark Holmes
  • Kath
  • Lee
3:33
13."Intimate"
  • Kath
  • Glass
Kath4:45
14."I Am Made of Chalk"Kath
3:09
Big Day Out edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
15."Not in Love" (featuring Robert Smith from The Cure)3:48
16."Celestica" (Bear in Heaven Remix)3:29
17."Celestica" (Thurston Moore Remix)3:51
18."Baptism" (No Age Remix)4:18
19."Baptism" (Punks Jump Up Remix)5:03
20."Suffocation" (Memory Tapes Remix)5:09
21."Mother Knows Best"2:01
22."Insectica"1:49
23."Seed"1:44

Notes

  • ^a signifies an additional producer.
  • ^b signifies an additional vocal producer.

Sample credits[34]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crystal Castles II.[34]

Crystal Castles

Additional personnel

  • Lexxx – vocal recording (track 1); mixing (tracks 1, 4–11)
  • Paul Epworth – additional production, vocal recording (track 2); guitar solo recording (track 10); additional vocal production (track 14)
  • Matthew Wagner – vocal recording (track 3)
  • Jacknife Lee – production (tracks 4, 7, 9, 12)
  • Alex Bonenfant – vocal recording (tracks 4, 7, 10, 11); production (track 6); mixing (tracks 7, 13); guitar recording (track 10); drum recording (track 13)
  • Christopher Chartrand – drum solo (track 13); live drums
  • X Tecumseh Clark – cover model
  • Todd Tamanend Clark – photograph
  • Marc Pannozzo – band photo
  • Nilesh Patel – mastering

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[35] 25
Irish Albums Chart[36] 56
Scottish Albums Chart[37] 54
UK Albums Chart[9] 48
UK Dance Albums Chart[38] 8
US Billboard 200[10] 188
US Dance/Electronic Albums[39] 6

References

  1. ↑ Zaleski, Annie (November 6, 2012). "Crystal Castles: (III)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010–2014)". Pitchfork. August 19, 2014. Archived from the original on February 29, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  3. ↑ Young, Alex (May 3, 2010). "Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (II)". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  4. ↑ Dombal, Ryan (2010-04-13). "Crystal Castles Announce Second LP | News". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  5. ↑ "New album "II" tracklist". Crystalcastles.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  6. ↑ "( II ) by Crystal Castles". iTunes Store. January 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  7. ↑ "2nd album update". Crystalcastles.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  8. ↑ "I recorded most of the record in the coldest winter in decades in a church without heat in Iceland. It was so cold that when I listen back I can hear myself shivering. I chose it because it felt right".
  9. 1 2 "Crystal Castles" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Crystal Castles – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Crystal Castles by Crystal Castles reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Reviews for Crystal Castles [2010] by Crystal Castles". Metacritic. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  13. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Crystal Castles (II) – Crystal Castles". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  14. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (June 16, 2010). "Crystal Castles, "Crystal Castles"". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  15. ↑ Hann, Michael (May 20, 2010). "Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles". The Guardian. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  16. ↑ Brown, August (June 1, 2010). "Album review: Crystal Castles' 'Self-Titled (II)'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  17. ↑ Mackay, Emily (May 3, 2010). "Album Review: Crystal Castles – 'Crystal Castles' (Fiction)". NME. Archived from the original on May 7, 2010. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  18. ↑ Cohen, Ian (April 29, 2010). "Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles". Q (288): 129. July 2010.
  20. ↑ Reeves, Mosi (June 8, 2010). "Crystal Castles, 'Crystal Castles' (Fiction)". Spin. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles". The Times. May 22, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles". Uncut (158): 104. July 2010.
  23. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (July 25, 2012). "Crystal Castles Return With New Track, 'Plague': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Blue Rodeo, BSS on Polaris long list" Archived 2010-09-01 at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2010.
  25. ↑ Adams, Sean (December 2, 2010). "Drowned in Sound's albums of the year 2010: 50–11". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on November 29, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  26. ↑ "musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2010: The Complete List". musicOMH. 2 August 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  27. ↑ "75 best albums of 2010". NME. November 22, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  28. ↑ "The Top 50 Albums of 2010". Pitchfork. December 16, 2010. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  29. ↑ "The 70 Best Albums of 2010". PopMatters. December 23, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. 2010. Archived from the original on November 18, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  31. ↑ "The 25 Best Albums of 2010". Slant Magazine. December 14, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  32. ↑ "The 40 Best Albums of 2010". Spin. December 6, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Stereogum's Top 50 Albums Of 2010". Stereogum. December 8, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  34. 1 2 Crystal Castles II (liner notes). Crystal Castles. Fiction Records. 2010. 2740407.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  35. ↑ "Crystal Castles – (II)". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 27 May 2010". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. May 30 – June 5, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  38. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. May 30 – June 5, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Crystal Castles – Chart history: Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
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