Crystal Stilts

Listening to the new Crystal Stilts record Alight of Night (Slumberland). It's interesting, of course, there's got to be some sort of catch for a band like this to get so much hype on sites like stereogum.com where they caught on way back in July and posted a few tracks, namely Alight of Night tracks "Prismatic Room," "Crystal Stilts," and "Shattered Shine," all of which lend themselves to a sort of gloomy, hazy mope possibly in the vein of Galaxie 500, some random 80s shoegaze crew, or fuzzy modern folks like Vivian Girls (whom Crystal Stilts robbed of a drummer, Frankie) or Deerhunter (similarities arise in the vocal effects and eerie hiss). "The SinKing" bops along, almost like a Hives song but drenched in layers of see-through textures. "Departure" boasts a crisp guitar tone and a tight bassline as more textures float above the mix. "Crystal Stilts" has this great retro organ, very appropriate for Halloween this past weekend. I've played "Shattered Shine" on the show a while back, its guitars sounding almost tropical in the context of the album's dark tones while a harmonica weeps underneath guitars as folded into each other and muddy as any found on a My Bloody Valentine record.

I'm not convinced on this being relevant a few months from now, but it's a solid listen for the moment. Not as easily accessible as cousin band Vivian Girls, not necessarily lacking in pop sensibilities but in straight forward approach. The Vivian Girls record comes and goes as if it didn't exist in the first place, like it already happened in the past, like you've already familiar. Crystal Stilts do not give the listener that much leeway, opting for a more churning, cryptic haze to wrap the listener in. "Verdant Gaze" actually sports some fly flute jamming which I can totally get into, while the following track "Bright Night" is more of a rocker, stomping what really only needs to be a single drum and tambourine, pounding behind Brad Hargett's deadpan croak and guitar jangle. Most lyrics are indecipherable upon the first listen, but one could imagine they're sappy pleas for a way out of despair or whatever. "Spiral Transit" tones it down, possibly to 50s high-school-prom-slow-dance speed, before finishing the record with another shambling track to drift off to, tinkling away into abrupt nothingness.

Check em out.

P.S. Speaking of Deerhunter and Vivian Girls, the two of them plus Times New Viking will be playing at the Paradise Rock Club November 10th. hollarr