Crystal Castles - Amnesty (I)

Rating:

It’s not a bad album, it just pales in comparison to what came before.

The extent to which people will be concerned with the sonic output of Crystal Castles mk 2.0 remains to be seen. It seems inevitable that Alice Glass’ departure from the duo - replaced with new vocalist Edith Frances - will dominate any and all narratives for the foreseeable future.

Despite their best efforts, it’s easy to see why too. While ‘Amnesty (I)’ has enough of the Crystal Castles DNA to carry the name, it lacks the aggressive intensity to live up to the spirit. A song titled ‘Sadist’ should never result in a limp fade, while too often tracks feel thinly stretched.

It’s not a bad album, it just pales in comparison to what came before. Stephen Ackroyd