Crystal Castles is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic duo Crystal Castles, released on March 18, 2008. Despite being labeled as their debut album, it's actually a compilation of the band's previous sold-out singles, early unreleased demos recorded in 2004, and a few new tracks created specifically for the release.
The album showcases Crystal Castles' distinctive sound, which combines harsh, industrial-style drums with 8-bit electronic textures created using a circuit-bent Atari 5200 console. Alice Glass's heavily processed vocals range from ethereal and fragile to aggressive and incomprehensible, creating an unpredictable sonic landscape that constantly shifts between chaos and melody.
Notable tracks include Alice Practice, the alleged mic check recording that first brought them attention, Crimewave (a collaboration with noise group HEALTH), and Untrust Us, which samples Death from Above 1979. The album's closing track, Tell Me What to Swallow, stands out as a more subdued ballad featuring acoustic guitar and 40 layers of Glass's vocals.
Critics praised the album for its originality and unpredictable nature, with many highlighting how it challenged conventional electronic dance music through its stripped-down, yet grimy aesthetic. The record was called one of the best electronic albums of the year and appeared on numerous year-end lists by publications like Pitchfork, NME, and PopMatters.
The album performed well commercially, charting in multiple countries and selling over 72,000 copies in the United States by 2010. It was later certified Silver in the UK and has been recognized as an influential record that helped define the experimental electronic music scene of the late 2000s.
