From Across The Pond 05.06.08: Taking Over Europe With Noise

Posted by Sean Reid on 05.06.2008

This week, Seán Reid looks at Canadian act Crystal Castles bid to take over Europe, the cream of the crop in the latest Glastonbury line-up and a classic European act.

I'm pissed off. I usually don't like opening on a rant, but I have to say something that no critic over here seems to be saying. Crystal Castles are an AWFUL band. They are not ground-breaking, they are not talented and they cannot write a song to save their lives. They are fucking terrible. It sickens me to see this band on the cover of magazines, being exposed to the mainstream when have neither earned or deserve that right.

So thank Jesus Aphex Twin is back touring, to show these whipper snappers what electronic noise is meant to sound like. See it's not that I hate the kind of music that Crystal Castles makes; I love acts that are in the same kind of "fuck you to music" kind zone. Acts like Aphex Twin, The Locust and Squarepusher. They are what this style of music is meant to sound like. But yet, Crystal Castles are taking over Europe and becoming the hottest thing to come out of Canada since Arcade Fire. If you take the time to listen to this band you'll be left scratching your head, wondering what the hell is going on when someone that sounds like this is featured of one of England's biggest teen-dramas Skins.

To be honest, I can't come up with a logical answer. Originally I thought it could have been a quest for people to find something different, but there is another new band that are in the same style but are making more "commercial" music, Late of the Pier, who are not enjoying the same level of success or media coverage. Why is a band that set out to destroy music more popular than a similar band who wants to make catchy songs?

Perhaps it is this layer of mystery that surrounds the band which draws people in. Ever since I first saw the band live I have been asking myself a number of questions: Who are these guys? Why do they hate music so much? What is driving them to create such harsh sounds? How did they generate so much interest almost over night? The more I think about it, the more I feel that this is the reason that more and more Europeans are checking out Crystal Castles. People are asking these kinds of questions, and it is causing them to check out what these guys are all about. There is nothing better than a layer of mystery to make people interested in your band.

I can't see this sudden interest surviving though. While they have done an amazing by making every-day music fans interested in something as un-listenable as them, they face a huge challenge in holding their interest. This is going to be their downfall. Just ask Aphex Twin. Sure, everyone will tell you about the two Chris Cunningham videos, but ask for something else and no one will know what you are talking about. The only difference between these two is Aphex Twin actually makes brilliant music. But hey, if Crystal Castles don't actually want to make music, then I guess that's what they want.

And with that little rant over…

The Best of Europe

Some of you have been emailing me about European music and a desire to discover more and more of it. Well, I have decided to add an extra part to my column, looking at some of the best bands to ever come out of Europe. This way you get a little history lesson and have a weekly act to go check out. Some bands I'm sure you would have heard of before, but you might not know where to start on them. So with that, let's examine this week's band.

Joy Division

For fans of : Interpol, Editors, Killers.

Essential Album : Unknown Pleasures

Essential Tracks : Transmission, She's Lost Control, Love Will Tear Us Apart

Very few bands have achieved in 4 or 5 albums what Joy Division has done in two. Widely regarded as one of the finest rock bands in the history of music, they have influenced everyone from Moby to U2. They only followed their rules, using bass as their lead instrument and the guitar as rhythm, and singing about tragedy and loss, something a lot less bands where doing in the late seventies than today. The bands life was tragically cut short by the suicide of singer Ian Curtis, but their effect can be seen in almost every corner of the music world.

Joy Division combined loud, fantastic rock and roll with deep, powerful, almost frightening lyrics. This doesn't mean that the band couldn't perform something softer on the scale, as the chart topping Love Will Tear Us Apart proved. If there is a better track out there that sums a relationship you know you shouldn't be involved with, I have yet to hear it. And I probably never will.

What is upsetting about this band though is thinking about where they could have gotten to. Listening to some of the tracks from second album ‘Closer' (released after Curtis's suicide) and later released b sides such as Atmosphere paint a brilliant picture of what their future would have been. As the band began to slow down and add keyboard to the mix, something amazing was happening. Joy Division would have elevated from one of the greatest acts to ever come out of Europe, to perhaps the greatest band in the history of the world.

But, it's best not to think about what could have been, and instead focus on what they are. Anyone out there who thinks they are an indie fan, a rock fan or into any form of guitar based rock needs to listen to Joy Division. Your love for music demands it.

Glastonbury Greatness!

So, I'm sure that you guys in the States are even aware that Glastonbury is easily the biggest and most important festival in Europe. But one thing that you seem to have a hard time understand is just how big the thing actually is. There a literally hundreds of bands playing every year, it's virtually impossible to see the full sets of even 10% of the acts playing. This is what makes the thing so good; you are guaranteed to find a number of bands you'll like. (This is why I find the whole Jay Z headlining debate ridiculous. If you don't like Jay Z, it doesn't mean there won't be any other band playing that you'll love)

A large chunk of the line-up just got released, so for those of you thinking of traveling too it, here are some of the best acts that have emerged from this line up that you have to check out!

Massive Attack, The Raconteurs, My Morning Jacket, CSS, Battles, Goldfrapp, Band of Horses, Neon Neon, Dizzee Rascal, Simian Mobile Disco, The Futureheads, Holy Fuck, Manu Chao, Brian Johnstown Massacre, Black Kids, Elbow, Foals, Editors, We Are Scientists, The Kills, UNKLE, Squarepusher, The Orb, Does It Offend You Yeah?, MGMT and The Zutons. I'm leaving out a lot of other acts there, but these guys are the cream of the crop. This is looking to be one of the best line-ups in recent years, with some of the finest artists around the globe playing. And then there is Squarepusher, that guy alone is making me contemplate getting a ticket somehow.

And with that I leave you for this week. Don't forget to hit me up with an email with your comments and such, and check out my band Bazuki at www.bebo.com/bazukiband. We are recording a live DVD this Saturday, so hopefully I'll be great spirits for next week's piece!