MP3: Crystal Stilts – “Shattered Shine”
MP3: Cause Co-Motion! – Which Way Is Up?”
Slumberland labelmates (and friends) Crystal Stilts and Cause Co-Motion! are heading out on tour together, hitting the West Coast. It’s the first set of West Coast dates for Crystal Stilts, while Cause Co-Motion! have made the trek before. Both bands have brand new releases as of this past Tues, Oct. 28.
Crystal Stilts bio:
It’s no big secret that Brooklyn has been the home for some mighty happening music lately, but there are few bands with as unique a vibe and presence as Crystal Stilts. Formed in 2003 by Brad Hargett and JB Townsend, they quickly recorded their debut single “Shattered Shine” with their mate Sean Mafucci (Gang Gang Dance, Kid Congo Powers). The combination of Brad’s deep and mysterious vocals with JB’s classicist
garagey twang struck an immediate chord with New York’s music lovers, and 2005 and 2006 saw the band play with everyone from Blood On The Wall and Cause Co-Motion! to The Long Blondes and 1990s, culminating in the addition of organ player Kyle Forrester (Ladybug Transistor) and the recording of a 4 song EP.
2007 and 2008 were busy for the band as well, rounding out the line-up with bassist Andy Adler (The Ninjas) and drummer extraordinaire Frankie Rose (ex-Vivian Girls), and playing a string of insane shows with the likes of The Clean and The Vaselines. Recently, Brooklyn’s Woodsist label reissued the band’s single and EP to great acclaim from folks like Pitchfork and Stereogum. Along the way they’ve been working on the tracks for their eagerly-anticipated debut album, taking their time to ensure that each tune contributes just the right amount to the whole, crafting a perfect album with which to realize their distinctive music vision.
And now Slumberland is very proud to bring you Alight of Night, an album that more than delivers on the promise of those early singles. So what’s it like, you ask? There is a definite flavor of The Velvet Underground to be had, but Crystal Stilts’ spectral avant-garage also takes in such far-flung references as: the spooked 60s Texas psych of 13th Floor Elevators and Red Crayola, the gothic blues/punk howl of Gun Club, the dark, experimental DIYism of early Flying Nun/Xpressway groups Pin Group and Plagal Grind, and a post-punk minimalism that brings to mind early Rough Trade and Factory releases. There is definitely a strong pop element as well, with the buzzsaw bubblegum of early Mary Chain b-sides and Meat Whiplash coming to mind.
These are all just rough points of reference, though — Alight of Night is far more than just the sum of the bands influences. From the twang ‘n’ echo of “Crystal Stilts” to the primal pop stomp of “Prismatic Room” and the lovelyjangle of “Shattered Shine,” the band always adds something extra and unique to the mix, whether it’s a fleeting dash of harmonica, a hypnotic organ line or just an amazing guitar sound. There is a unity of purpose at work here, a special mood conjured by the sounds, production and sequence of songs that lifts this album into the realm of the classics, and reveals new
twists and turns on each listen.
Like all great albums, every piece just sits in exactly the right place, each song builds on the last and by the end you couldn’t imagine changing anything about it at all. Eerily familiar but totally now, Alight of Night is a brilliantly haunting slice of rock primitivism.
Cause Co-Motion! bio:
Take A Look
Cause Co-Motion! have spent the last three years releasing a series of increasingly rad singles on What’s Yr Rupture?, Cape Shok, Can’t Cope and finally Slumberland. Their sound is a blazing chaos of jangle, clatter, and thump – busted strings and broken hearts. Hummable tunes to scratch that TVPs/Pastels/Comet Gain itch, with more than a dash of 14 Iced Bears and Desperate Bicycles in there too. Using reverb as a weapon, Cause Co-Motion! have honed their hyperactive sound into a formidable DIY pop lexicon. Dig their new language.
It’s Time!
Slumberland is very happy to bring you It’s Time!, a compilation of all of these fine singles. The fourteen songs race by in barely over twenty minutes, the compressed rush of melody, tunes and crash-bang energy perfectly mirroring the hormonal frenzy of adolescence and young adulthood. The eagerness to COMMUNICATE, if only for two minutes at a time. Classics like “This Time Next Year” and “Take A Look” have become mixtape staples, and are joined by more recent missives like “Say What You Feel” and “Cry For Attention” in the canon of crash-pop.
When Will It Finally End?
Why should it? Cause Co-Motion! have built up a rabid following playing way too many shows to count the last six years, with bands like Love Is All, Vivian Girls, Tyvek, Japanther, The Apples In Stereo, Crystal Stilts and many others. They’ve been championed in places like Brooklyn Vegan, Dusted, Pitchfork and pretty much every place that savvy music fans trade notes about the newest singles.
It’s Time! is a neat summation of the history of Cause Co-Motion! so far, a blast of pure pop energy and DIY sincerity for these all-too knowing and ironic times. We challenge you to listen to tunes like “Baby Don’t Do It” and “Who’s Gonna Care?” and not get up and dance, clap your hands and sing along at the top of your lungs. Go ahead, nobody is watching. We won’t tell.
CRYSTAL STILTS & CAUSE CO-MOTION!
Nov. 01 San Diego, CA Che Cafe
Nov. 02 Los Angeles, CA The Echo / Part Time Punks
Nov. 03 Oakland, CA House of Nostromo
Nov. 04 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
Nov. 05 Sacramento, CA Luigi’s Fun Garden
Nov. 06 Eugene, OR Samurai Duck
Nov. 07 Portland, OR Holocene
Nov. 08 Olympia, WA The Big Room
Nov. 09 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
Crystal Stilts
Alight of Night
(Slumberland)
Street date: Oct. 28, 2008
1. The Dazzled
2. Crystal Stilts
3. Graveyard Orbit
4. Prismatic Room
5. The SinKing
6. Departure
7. Shattered Shine
8. Verdant Gaze
9. Bright Night
10. Spiral Transit
11. The City In The Sea
Cause Co-Motion!
It’s Time! : Singles and eps 2005-08
(Slumberland)
Street date: Oct. 28, 2008
1. Only Fades Away
2. Baby Don’t Do It
3. This Just Won’t Last
4. This Time Next Year
5. Take A Look
6. Which Way Is Up?
7. Falling Again
8. Don’t You Know?
9. Say What You Feel
10. When Will It Finally End?
11. Who’s Gonna Care?
12. I Lie Awake
13. You Don’t Say
14. Cry For Attention
CRYSTAL STILTS:
MySpace: www.myspace.com/crystalstilts
CAUSE CO-MOTION!:
MySpace: www.myspace.com/causeco
Slumberland Records: www.slumberlandrecords.com