Cougar Microbes

Two years after the release of their smash-and-grab debut Crystal Castles resurfaced in 2010. By naming this follow up ‘Crystal Castles‘ as well the duo were inevitably going to draw comparisons but the good news is that CC (II) cranks up on everything its predecessor offered. Better still the Canadian band succeeded in creating a record which is as good as, if not better than, their first release. 

Despite embodying a “fuck off” attitude the duo can’t help themselves when it comes to planting lingering melodies. Under a barrage of Gameboy sounds Alice Glass sounds ferocious and yet her unique star quality is evident even at times when her voice manipulation is pushed to the max.

Back in May Cougar Microbes caught the band live in London which brought Zuri to exclaim:

“Crystal Castles might play a dance based, retro-futuristic 8 bit version of noise music, but make no mistake: this is a hard-boiled punk band through and through.”

TRACKS:

Next: #19 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Frightened Rabbit: The Winter Of Mixed Drinks

On Thursday the 4th of November music collectives Greco Roman and Moda are presenting Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs latest EP ‘The Household Goods‘ launch party. Live from The City Arts & Music Project in Shoreditch you can expect his very own dancing dinoasaurs on stage.

If you haven’t heard Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs is the newest and most exciting thing to hit the electro scene this year. His sound is up upbeat and melodic with feather light vocal touches. It’s got the space and feel of The XX with the dance roots of Crystal Castles. His latest single ‘Garden’, featuring Louisa from Lulu And The Lampshades, even throws in a few pop references just to be safe.

Come down to fulfill your Jurassic Park fantasies.

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Post by the jetsetting Ruby
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TRACKS:

It should be legally mandatory to check up on The Hood Internet at least once a month. Particularly when the mashups involve Cougar darlings Crystal Castles mixed with the R&B du jour.

If I’m slightly late to this it is only because i’ve been gawking at the rest of the goodies these guys have put on the plate for us.

TRACKS:

David E Sugar’s output sounds a little like a fusion of Hot Chip and Calvin Harris combined with some tongue-in-cheek sleaze and some 70s inspired funk; but before you hold this against him, the tracks are actually consistently good.

As well as having two tracks featured on the legendary Kitsuné compilations he has also been touring hard sharing stages with the likes of  Deadmau5, Hadouken and Digitalism. We’re also told he was a pioneer of “Chip-Tune” (synth sounds derived from a video game or console sound chip) but thankfully his synth sounds are more Crystal Castles than Commodore 64.

Irrespective of his past and moving on to his present this latest indie- electro- pop sound works and it will make you want to dance and at the very least get your feet tapping. His vocal style has an almost lassiez-faire attitude to reminiscent of Jarvis Cocker and he combines it with some bitter lemon spitter lyrics which wouldn’t be out of place on a Kate Nash single.

He’s certainly gaining praise from mainstream names such as Kissy Sellout and Jesse Rose and his signing to Cougar faves Sunday Best should help catapult him into the spotlight. He also managed to draw and an impressive crowd at Bestival’s Arcadia stage earlier this month and is likely to do the same on tour with Fenech-Soler later this month. My advice to you? Keep an eye on the boy.

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Post by the workaholic Ruby

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TRACKS:

David E Sugar – [Disco Of Doom Remix]

Postponed due to Icelandic volcano activity, fans were put on tenterhooks in anticipation of the Crystal Castles‘ live appearance at London‘s Heaven on 19th June. And their fans are very die-hard, to put it mildly, piling up as close to the stage as possible two hours before the set began as if waiting for the messiah.

The MESSIAH crawled on stage on all fours with a savage expression on her face; part woman, part beast, part machine. Disciplined by the stern beats of ‘Fainting Spells‘, the opener from the Castles‘ self-titled second album, the creature arose to euphoric applause and started to thrash about like a harpooned shark. It was Alice Glass, the humanoid CC singer – would she dive into the crowd despite plenty of frictions with bouncers and broken up gigs in the past?

It’s fair to say that Alice spent more time crowd surfing than she did on stage. The crowd were grateful, passing her around and holding her up like the female Iggy Pop incarnation that she was. Producer and synth player Ethan Kath is the glue that prevents it all from falling apart, motionlessly hunching over his synthesisers and exercising a somewhat sinister authority over the proceedings.

Crystal Castles might play a dance based, retro-futuristic 8 bit version of noise music, but make no mistake: this is a hard-boiled punk band through and through. Coupled with their epilepsy-inducing lightshow, the manner in which they thrash through material such as the mighty ‘Crimewave‘ or the more Ladytronesque ‘Celestica‘ is of such intensity this author can only imagine it’s like a Stooges gig circa 1970.

Ultimately, Alice Glass‘s not-of-this-earth stage persona is a wonderful testimony to the power of human expression. Catch them live if you can!

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Guest post by the enthused Zuri Zurowski

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TRACKS:

Crystal Castles – Celestica

Hands Up Who Cares , our monthly club night, is back next friday (21st of May) at The Library in Islington.

We’ll be spinning tunes by Crystal Castles, TV on the Radio, WHY?, Foals, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Two Door Cinema Club, The XX and loads more Cougar favourites.

Entry is free to everybody registered as ‘attending’ on the Facebook event page and £1 to all others.  Hope to see you there!

For more details please drop by here.

TRACKS:

Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley - As We Enter (Tinie Tempah Remix)

Bloc Party -Hunting For Witches (RAC Mix)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)

Yeasayer – Ambling Alp