Back in 2010, you couldn't be on an 'indie' music website without at least hearing mention of Crystal Castles. This was of course after the release of their incredibly popular and successful sophomore LP, one that I and many others enjoyed quite a bit; however, the band took their sweet time with the follow-up, and unfortunately the result was an album that had brief moments of good, overshadowed by a complete lack of ambition. The duo seemed to have lost the spark that got them going in the first place, so, as they should of, they decided to call it quits... than one half of the duo, Ethan Kath (producer) decided that he wasn't done with the project, and with the help of a new lead vocalist Edith Frances have put out a new full length titled Amnesty(I).
Long story short, this album is not good.
And I really could leave the review of their if I felt like it, because this LP gives fans nothing new whatsoever, and in fact, often gives the listener less than the previous album which was sorely lacking in great tunes to begin with.
The album kicks of with the Trap-influenced "Femen" which could have been pretty good if the beat wasn't just skittering around for the entire duration, or I don't know, skittered in an interesting way? Then we get a couple decent tracks with "Fleece" and easily the best track here, "Char". Though I'd me remiss to say that these tracks are anything other than passable, and don't feature some of the most 'edgy' goth synthesizers I've heard in a long time.
In fact, that was the impression I kept getting while listening to Amnesty(I); that I was simply listening to a band that formerly, was making eerie, yet catchy dance tunes that were legitimately skillful, instead opting for the laziest allusions to 'darkness' I've heard all year.
And the production on here is pretty laughable too, which surprised me, because even on the duo's last album, he still proved to be at least a decent enough producer, though his tendency to bury the vocals was present on that album as it is here in full force. In fact, I can't tell that there's a new vocalist here at all, and not because she is just as good as Alice Glass. No, it's because I can hardly make out anything she's doing buried under all the effects and wonky production moments that range from bare bones to an assault of my ear-drums... it's really quite shameful, honestly.
The album goes from passable to un-bearable on tracks like "Sadist" and "Teach Her How To Hunt", the former of which ambles about for nearly three minutes before apathetically fading out, and the latter presents a completely worthless bit of filler on an album that is only 33 minutes to begin with.
Again, this album is not good, and I really can't recommend it to anybody, not even long time fans, because you deserve a lot better than this. Sadly, another CC LP that I won't be returning to.
3.0/10
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