Monday , November 16, 2009
Soundtracks: Crystal Stilts, Alight of Night
There are some records that you like because they make your ears do strange, fun things with their sense of bravura and experimentation, and there are some records that you dig because they're the sonic equivalent of your heart, perfectly encapsulating your emotional state in the way that only music can. And then there are some recordings that are so well-executed in songwriting, musicianship and production that you have to bow in awe, and there are some records that you just like -- they may not be "new" or they may not be "deep," but they're great to put on and groove to. Sometimes I think critics really underrate "grooviness" as a quality concern, which is too bad, because Brooklyn-based Crystal Stilts has that quality in spade. I'm not saying that they aren't good or that their music lacks emotional depth -- it doesn't at all, but the quality that stands out most for me with Alight of Night is this late-night, spooky, slightly soused amiability, which makes it a perfect fall record and a totally perfect New York City record. This is just one of those great collection of songs that shambles from your speakers like that tall, lanky drunk dude at the back of most rock shows, wearing sunglasses in the dark, minding his own business, kind of watching everyone and taking notes and being sardonic and all that. This is the guy that does that weird little lurch-y shuffle dance on the sidelines, and he probably goes home at night and writes terse entries in his super-cryptic blog. Or he goes on to write songs like those here, which are both deeply familiar in their genre (stately avant-garage pop with a shot of codeine coming out of a wind tunnel) and deeply weird with their indecipherable lyrics and removed, weirdo-mumbled deadpan vocals. The highest compliment some people will give this record would be to say that Andy Warhol would love it, which is perfect because people are always comparing Crystal Stilts to the Velvet Underground. (Or Jesus and Mary Chain, or some weird coupling of Joy Division, Suicide and a 60s Motown group.) Whatever, man -- I never really want to make out to Velvet Underground (um, ewwww), but I'd totally make out to this. Alight of Night: you can clap to it, kiss to it, dance to it, shamble to it, sleep to it. You probably don't want to eat brunch to it, but come on -- do you really need to ask more of such a oddly great record?
FAVORITE SONG: "Graveyard Orbit" (If Tarantino ever made a movie about a girl gang hiding out in a haunted house, this would be good)
MP3: "Crystal Stilts" (Don't you love a band that has a song title with their name? Kind of like a theme song!)
CRYSTAL STILTS: MYSPACE
Tags: avant-garage, Brooklyn bands, convoluted music criticism, Crystal Stilts, weird cool dudes at rock shows
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Posted by Kat in Soundtracks |
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