Review / 200 Words Or Less
Crystal Castles
III

Fiction (2012) Nathan G. O'Brien

Crystal Castles – III cover artwork
Crystal Castles – III — Fiction, 2012

Vandalism. You know the feeling you get right before it happens? The moment you grip it in your hand; arm above your head and cocked back? Or the instant just after you shake the can and right before you press down on the tip? How about the feeling you get right after it happens? The moment the brick goes through the window? Or the instant you step back to admire your work, only to be interrupted by the shouting and the bobbing of flashlights and dark silhouettes rapidly approaching you? Maybe you don’t know what I’m talking about and maybe, or rather, positively, I should just shut up, lest I incriminate myself further. But let’s assume for a second that you have at least some notion of the feeling I’m talking about—the seconds just before and just after. Your heart is racing from absolute terror, and yet it’s an oddly pleasurable and highly addictive type of terror. Well, this record is the soundtrack to that feeling.

Aptly-titled, III is the third album by Ethan Kath and Alice Glass, the Canadian experimental electro-noise duo collectively known as Crystal Castles. They are everything you wish you could be: shadowy, ingenious, skinny, and punk as motherfucking fuck. With percussion that thumps like a persistent authoritarian finger-tapping your congested chest and searing, agitated synths that spike into the backs of your eyeballs with the ease of a hot knife through warm butter, it’s the best dream you’ve ever had and your worst imaginable nightmare colliding face-first deep in recesses of your brain matter; erupting into a tepid, saccharine goo that flows through your body in a hurried uneasiness. I’ve never done heroin, but I’m guessing this is what the first taste is like. III is mood-altering, strangely danceable, and most of all, frightening yet beautiful vandalism.

Crystal Castles – III cover artwork
Crystal Castles – III — Fiction, 2012

Recently-posted album reviews

Errth

Errth
Uncle Style Records (2025)

What makes a gruff vocal melodic punk band stand out? That's the question I'm asking myself as I listen to Errth's debut on repeat. I've been playing this record for probably a month straight and I dig it. It checks the heart-on-sleeve style I enjoy but I'm struggling to figure out why, exactly. I think on this, it's the tones … Read more

1186

Histeria
Drunken Sailor (2025)

If you read enough press releases, you start questioning if you even know what genre names mean. Post-punk has been one of the most abused terms of the past 2-3 years and it seems to mean wildly different things to different people. To me, it’s always meant an ear for angular guitars and noise atop more traditional song concepts. 1186 … Read more

Li Jianhong

Shuttle Raven of the Dream
Utech (2025)

Li Jianhong's philosophy surpasses the direct relationship of a musician with their instrument of choice. Instead, Li has advocated for Environment Improvisation, where the urge to create and improvise is established by the artist's surroundings. Looking at Li's website you can find numerous instances that inspired him to settle down and start improvising, drawing energy from the surroundings. The music … Read more