Crystal Castles Offer Up Eerie Single & Album News
Canadian experimental electronic group Crystal Castles have announced the details of their fourth studio album ‘Amnesty (I)’, and to whet our appetites before the big day, they’ve also unveiled the first single of the album Char! Heavily featuring the group’s new vocalist Edith Frances, the track is everything we’ve come to expect from this compellingly weird ensemble.
Starting with a soft yet insistent line of synthesiser beneath Frances’ hovering, ethereal vocals, Char first seems like a gentle track designed to supplement the lazy end of a big night. Then the introduction of extra percussive layers builds the intensity, climaxing in an urgent, pulsing tapestry of sound. A growing sense of uneasiness is compounded by the uncomfortable yet barely-audible lyrics, including unsettling lines like ‘Vow to caress your rashes / Vow to punish with lashes’. As the song draws to a close, it returns to its gentle, lulling origins, leaving the listener wondering what the hell just happened.
Char is just the latest tidbit on offer from Crystal Castles’ upcoming album, following visual previews of two other tracks, Femen and Concrete. If these tracks are any indication of what’s to come on ‘Amnesty (I)’, we are definitely in for a wild ride.
‘Amnesty (I)’ is set to be released on the Friday 19th of August.
