"Not in Love" is the title of two covers by the Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles of the 1983 eponymous song by the Canadian rock band Platinum Blonde. The first version appeared on Crystal Castles' second studio album Crystal Castles (2010). The second cover, which features Robert Smith of The Cure, was digitally released as a non-album single on October 26, 2010, alongside a music video. Crystal Castles member Ethan Kath recorded vocals for the first version of "Not in Love"; following the album's release, Smith asked for permission to remix one of its tracks, resulting in the second version of "Not in Love".
Critics stated the first version of "Not in Love", which is a synth-pop and gothic rock song, is calmer than Smith's version, which they said had more-impactful beats and synthesizers. Although the album version was generally seen as unexciting, critics praised Smith's cover, especially its vocals, and some publications named it as one of the best songs of 2010. Commercially, it appeared in the singles charts of Australia, Denmark, Scotland, and the United Kingdom, and was certified gold by Music Canada.
Background and release
"Not in Love" is a 1983 song by the Canadian rock band Platinum Blonde that the Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castlescovered for their eponymous 2010 studio album.[1]Ethan Kath recorded the vocal as "a scratch demo" he intended to re-record but it was used for the finished version and released on the album.[2] Following the album's release, Robert Smith of The Cure, whom Crystal Castles had first met when the duo opened for The Cure at London's The O2 Arena in February 2009,[3] asked if he could remix one of its tracks. Instead of a remix, Kath suggested Smith's vocals should replace his own on "Not in Love".[2] Smith recorded "raw demo vocals" for the song; when the band listened to the result, they became attached to the way the demo was sung and decided to retain Smith's demo and canceled their plans to re-record Smith in a studio.[4]
The version of "Not in Love" with Smith's vocal was announced on October 25, 2010,[3] and officially released as a single a day later.[5] It was planned to be released in the United Kingdom via Fiction Records with acoustic demos of "Celestica" and "Suffocation" as B-sides on December 6.[6][7] "Not in Love" was sent to American alternative radio on January 11, 2011,[8] and an accompanying music video that was directed by Nic Brown was released the same month.[9][10] The song was included in the video game FIFA 12 (2011).[11]
Heather Phares of AllMusic characterized Crystal Castles' first cover of "Not in Love" as synth-pop.[15]Pitchfork's Mark Richardson said this version is filled with digital noise and heavy distortion.[16] Mark Pytlik, also writing for Pitchfork, said the track is "much tamer" than the version with Smith's vocal.[12] Cameron Scheetz of The A.V. Club said Kath's "distant, distorted vocals" on the first version provides a ghostly feel to the lyrics.[1] According to an NME writer: "[t]here's an urgency to the keyboards that crescendos into a wall of sound that wraps around you like a blanket".[17]
Scheetz said the version with Smith's vocal brings his emotive vocals to the forefront and enhances the song's "throbbing" beat, adding that, in the chorus, "the already propulsive synths become unavoidably sweeping".[1]Beats Per Minute's Philip Cosores said this version's chorus has a heavier mix than the first's.[14] According to Pytlik, Kath's "storming synth squalls" provide a perfect contrast to Smith's "precarious and insecure delivery".[12] Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork said this version has a stronger structure than the first, and powerful synths with an anthemic intensity.[13]
Critical reception
Album version
Critics generally considered the album version of "Not in Love" unexciting;[12][14][18] Pytlik said the track "barely seemed to make a dent" when it was released.[12]Drowned in Sound's James Lawrenson said it could be considered "filler" and "dropped as a B-side",[18] while Cosores of Beats Per Minute described it as "pretty pedestrian".[14] Emily Bick of The Quietus wrote the song "shifts towards discomfort, disillusion, despair".[19] Justin Jacobs of Paste described it as "pretty" and said it sounds "the way twinkling Christmas lights look".[20]
Robert Smith version
Pitchfork named the "Not in Love" re-recording with Robert Smith the "Best New Track", and Richardson said Smith "elevates" Crystal Castles' first version, balancing nostalgia and the immediacy of life.[16]Fact staff called the track "as satisfying as you could have hoped for".[21]Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal described Smith's vocals as "loud and clear", making it one of Crystal Castles' catchiest works.[5] Larry Fitzmaurice, also writing for Pitchfork, said the song is "massive", evoking chills, and that while it is a cover, its "high-definition angst" feels unique to the band.[13] He also said this was one of Smith's best performances in a long time.[13]
According to Scheetz, Smith's emotional vulnerability reveals "the tender longing[s] beneath Crystal Castles' cool, icy facade".[1] Brandon Stosuy of Stereogum said the cover could be considered the best The Cure song in years, while providing a new perspective on the "saturated, blasted goth-noise prettiness" of Crystal Castles.[22]Slant Magazine staff said: "[t]he crunchy production combined with Smith's familiar pangs is heart-wrenching and nothing short of blisteringly gorgeous".[23] Molly Beauchemin from Pitchfork described the song as having an explosive, "life-affirming" chorus that transitions into Kath's tender interludes with "triumphant precision", calling it one of Crystal Castles' "finest, most cathartic ballads".[24] A writer for DIY described the song as the most-destined for festival stages and the purest of any Crystal Castles release, adding it is one of the best covers of the 2010s and "a crazed re-creation of a song that looked to be dead and buried".[25]
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