Crystal Castles is a Canadian electronic duo formed in Toronto in 2003 by producer Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass, blending electroclash, glitch, and noise into an abrasive lo-fi signature. Start with the 2008 self-titled debut or Crystal Castles (II) (2010) — original Last Gang and Lies pressings are widely collected. Shop Crystal Castles vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Crystal Castles formed in Toronto in 2003 around Ethan Kath (Claudio Palmieri) and Alice Glass (Margaret Osborn). The duo became central figures in late-2000s electronic and witch-house-adjacent territory through three self-titled albums and III (2012). Glass departed acrimoniously in October 2014, citing personal and professional reasons that became the subject of public controversy; she later publicly alleged abuse by Kath in 2017, which Kath denied. Kath continued Crystal Castles with new vocalist Edith Frances on Amnesty (I) (2016). The project has been largely inactive in subsequent years.
Crystal Castles' sound combined electronic music, electroclash, witch house, glitch, lo-fi, and noise with Glass's distinctive distorted vocal performances. Their aesthetic - abrasive, lo-fi, willfully obscured - was widely influential on contemporary electronic and dance-adjacent indie music of the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Original Last Gang and Lies pressings of the Crystal Castles catalog are widely collected. Multiple repressings have been issued, particularly of the first two self-titled albums.
Listeners new to Crystal Castles typically start with Crystal Castles (II) (2010) or the 2008 self-titled debut.
