"Celestica" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Cover art on streaming services | ||||
Single by Crystal Castles | ||||
from the album Crystal Castles | ||||
Released | April 16, 2010 | |||
Length | 3:50 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Crystal Castles | |||
Producer(s) | Ethan Kath | |||
Crystal Castles singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
![]() Cover art for the radio edit CD |
"Celestica" is a song recorded by the Canadian electronic band Crystal Castles for their second studio album, Crystal Castles (2010). After a BBC Radio 1 premiere, it was released on April 16, 2010, as the first single [lower-alpha 1] from the album, being later accompanied by a music video. According to member Ethan Kath, the track was inspired by a suicide at the Celestica factories in Canada. Critics cited the song as a shift from Crystal Castles' usual sound, presenting a pop sound and resembling shoegaze. Others highlighted its melody and member Alice Glass' vocals. It was considered one of the best songs of the year by NME , while Pitchfork named it as one of the best tracks between 2010 and 2014 and among the best Crystal Castles songs.
Crystal Castles wrote "Celestica" for Crystal Castles (2010), which, according to a press release, was recorded at "an Icelandic church, a Canadian cabin, and a Detroit garage". [1] According to member Ethan Kath, the track was inspired by a suicide at the Celestica factories in Canada, where a worker reportedly jumped into a vat of hot plastic, which was then rumored to be still used in manufacturing products. [2]
Some critics described "Celestica" as a shift in Crystal Castles' usual glitchy and noisy sound; [2] [3] Molly Beauchemin of Pitchfork said that the song is "more muted" when compared to their other songs. [4] Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork compared it to Crystal Castles' "Courtship Dating" (2008), but with its "buzzy, brain-addling riff" replaced with "stadium-sized synths and a throbbing house heart". [5] NME writers described the instrumental as "Moloko-style anthemic pop house". [6] Pitchfork's Ian Cohen and Jay Hill of Tiny Mix Tapes said that the track resembled shoegaze, [7] with Hill comparing it to Galaxie 500 and Ride. [8]
Multiple reviewers highlighted the melody of "Celestica"; Rebecca Schiller of NME described it as "sweepingly melodic", with Crystal Castles "embracing simple, calm beauty". She said that the song presents "spacious spirituality". [3] Eric Torres wrote to Pitchfork that the track combines member Alice Glass' "gorgeous melody" with Kath's "cavernous synths and scraping guitars". [2] DJ Zane Lowe of BBC Radio 1 described it as "deep club and longing melody", which was unusual for the band. [9] The Guardian 's Michael Hann compared "Celestica" to "those swooning, melancholy European faux-classical melodies" of Pet Shop Boys and described it as the most pop-centric of the Crystal Castles album. [10]
Regarding Glass' vocals on "Celestica", Los Angeles Times writer August Brown described them as a delicate alto reminiscent of Hope Sandoval, [11] while Emily Mackay of NME compared her soft singing to the one in Delerium's "Silence". [12] The Quietus 's Emily Bick compared them to Ladytron and Lady Gaga. [13] Billboard staff said that Glass "glides sensitively", [14] while Mosi Reeves of Spin wrote that she "coos seductively". [15] Heather Phares wrote to AllMusic that the song "puts the focus on Glass' decidedly clear, melancholy vocals and the four-on-the-floor beat". [16]
"Celestica" was premiered by BBC Radio 1 on April 15, 2010. [9] It was digitally released as a single [lower-alpha 1] a day later through Polydor. [17] A radio edit was released on May 31 through Fiction, Lies, and Last Gang in the United Kingdom. [18] The song received remixes by Thurston Moore on June 2 [19] and Bear in Heaven on June 9. [20] A music video for "Celestica" was released on June 22, 2010. Directed by Ethan Kath and Rob Hawkins, the clip showcases children from the London College of Music playing violins and interacting in London's Abney Park Cemetery. At the same time, Alice Glass lip-syncs the song, while Ethan applies mud to his face. [21] [22]
Pitchfork 's Larry Fitzmaurice named "Celestica" the "Best New Track" at the time of its release, describing it as "a stone-cold beauty of a song". [5] Molly Beauchemin of the same website described it as an "excellent counterpart" to "Doe Deer", which follows "Celestica" on the Crystal Castles album, while also considering it a "gorgeous, harmonious classic". [4] August Brown of Los Angeles Times described it as "fantastic" and "a delicate and unexpectedly moving single". [11] It was named the 19th best track of 2010 by NME . [3] In 2014, Pitchfork named it the 89th best track of the decade until then, [2] and it was considered one of Crystal Castles' ten best songs until then by Molly Beauchemin of the same website. [4]
Digital single / EP [17]
Radio edit CD [18]
Adapted from the radio edit liner notes. [18]
Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass. Crystal Castles was known for their chaotic live shows and lo-fi melancholic homemade productions. They released many limited vinyl singles between 2006 and 2007 before releasing four studio albums between 2008 and 2016.
Alice Practice is the debut extended play (EP) by the Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles. It was released on July 9, 2006, through Merok Records. The release was limited to 500 copies on 7" vinyl and sold out in three days.
Crystal Castles is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles; at the time of its release, the group consisted of producer Ethan Kath and singer Alice Glass. The two met each other in 2004 and both had an interest in noise acts like AIDS Wolf & The Sick Lipstick. This inspired the two to start a noise music project, but instead of guitars, they would use electronic sounds made with a circuit-bent Atari 5200–which effectively led to the media pigeonholing the act as chiptune, despite the fact that the members themselves didn't deliberately intend this.
Margaret Osborn, known professionally as Alice Glass, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is the co-founder and former frontwoman of the electronic band Crystal Castles. In 2014, she embarked on a solo career. She released her eponymous debut EP in 2017. Her solo debut album, Prey//IV, was released in February 2022.
Claudio Paolo Palmieri, known professionally as Ethan Kath, is a Canadian musician. He was the co-founder and songwriter/producer for Crystal Castles and bassist of Kïll Cheerleadër and Die Mannequin.
Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parker, Dominic Simper, Jay Watson, Cam Avery, and Julien Barbagallo. The group has a close affiliation with fellow Australian psychedelic rock band Pond, sharing members and collaborators, including Nick Allbrook, formerly a live member of Tame Impala. Originally signed to Modular Recordings, Tame Impala is now signed to Interscope Records in the United States and Fiction Records in the United Kingdom.
"Crimewave" is a song performed by Canadian experimental band Crystal Castles and American noise rock band Health from Crystal Castles' self-titled debut album. The song acts as both Crystal Castles and Health's debut singles in addition to being the first single from the album Crystal Castles. It was first released on August 13, 2007 by Trouble Records, accompanied by the B-side "XxzxcuZx Me". The song is a re-working of the Health original track of the same name written by the band members of Health for their eponymous debut album. It was re-written by Ethan Kath of Crystal Castles. Kath also produced the re-worked track. The song contains prominent electro and chiptune musical characteristics.
"Vanished" is a single by Crystal Castles. It was released on Play It Again Sam Records on July 21, 2008, despite the fact that the release was supposed to be cancelled. The band did not want to release the song as a single and did not approve of the track listing or the artwork. "Tell Me What to Swallow" beat demo was a rejected remix by a French producer, not produced by Ethan Kath, but somehow the song appeared on the release. The vocals are sampled from the track "Sex City" from Van She.
Crystal Castles is the second studio album by the Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles, released on May 24, 2010, by Fiction Records and Last Gang Records. The album was initially scheduled for release on June 7, 2010; however, the release dates were moved forward after the album leaked online, thus a digital version of the album was released on April 23, 2010.
"Doe Deer" is a song recorded by the Canadian electronic band Crystal Castles. It was released on April 17, 2010, as the second single from their second studio album, Crystal Castles (2010); the release is also considered an EP.
III (stylized as (III)) is the third studio album by Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles, released on November 7, 2012, by Fiction Records and Polydor Records. Production was handled by Ethan Kath, with additional production by Jacknife Lee.
"Plague" is a song recorded by the Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles. It is the first single of the band's 2012 album, (III). On June 9, 2012, it was made available for free download on the duo's SoundCloud page.
"Boyfriend" is a song recorded by American rock duo Best Coast and produced by Lewis Pesacov for their debut studio album Crazy for You (2010). It was released as the lead single from the album on June 29, 2010.
"Not in Love" is a song recorded by the Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles featuring the English musician Robert Smith of the band the Cure. It is a re-recording of a Crystal Castles song of the same name, which is itself a cover of the song "Not in Love" (1983) by Platinum Blonde. The original song appeared on their second studio album, Crystal Castles (2010), while the version with Robert Smith was digitally released as a single on October 26, 2010. Although the album version was generally seen as unexciting, the version with Smith was named one of the best songs of 2010 by multiple publications. It appeared in the main charts of Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Scotland, and the United Kingdom, while also being certified gold by Music Canada.
Amnesty (I) (also titled Amnesty I and sometimes referred to as Amnesty) is the fourth and final studio album by Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles, released on August 19, 2016, by Fiction Records and Casablanca Records. It is their first album since the departure of previous frontwoman Alice Glass in 2014, and the first to feature new vocalist Edith Frances. It is also their first album not titled after their band name.
The discography of Canadian electronic duo Crystal Castles consists of four studio albums, fourteen music videos, three extended plays, sixteen singles, and eleven remixes.
Bon Voyage is the second studio album by French psychedelic pop band Melody's Echo Chamber. Released on 15 June 2018 on Fat Possum Records, the album is a collaboration between Melody Prochet and members of the Swedish psychedelic rock band Dungen.
Prey//IV is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Alice Glass. It was released on 16 February 2022 by Eating Glass Records. It is her first collection of solo material since the release of her self-titled EP released five years prior. The album title and track listing were revealed on 19 November 2021. The release of the album was preceded by four singles, "Suffer and Swallow", "Baby Teeth", "Fair Game", and "Love Is Violence". To promote the album, Glass embarked on a 15-date tour of the United States, the Traumabond Tour, from the 7 September to 31 October, 2022.
"Baptism" is a song by the Canadian electronic duo Crystal Castles, released as the third single from the duo's second studio album, Crystal Castles II (2010), on July 26, 2010. A music video was released on October 8, 2010. Crystal Castles performed the song at Jimmy Kimmel Live! in December.