Live Review

Crystal Castles – Brixton Academy

• 24th Feb 2011

I don’t know whether it’s the unpredictability or the sheer ferocity of a Crystal Castles performance that keeps me going back to them. It’s become an almost addictive sensation, knowing you’ll come out battered and bruised but having thoroughly enjoyed yourself in the process. With every show, a new flock of teenagers come to divulge in that sensation, opening up a freedom and ‘fuck everything’ attitude that takes no place in their otherwise fairly coherent lives. And the appeal seems to be growing as a sold out Brixton Academy audience watched on in dismay as chaos was unleashed in-front of them.

Satisfying an ever increasingly ruckus crowd Crystal Castles took the stage with velocity, imposing a set compiled of both albums onto the teenagers beneath them. Like the coming of dawn, those inside felt the lights grow from a disconcerting darkness at the start to an almost unbearable bright focus leaving the entire stage tripped into overload as strobes took over.

Breaking only for the encore, never at any other point did the relentless attack on the crowd’s eardrums feel a slowdown, as favourites such as ‘Alice Practice’ ‘Baptism’ and ‘Untrust Us’ screamed out against Brixton’s high ceiling .
With Alice on crutches due to an earlier tour injury she still had the presence CC are famed for. Throwing herself around and climbing the monitors to scream out lyrics to fans, the energy, even on the last date of a tour was impeccable. Playing alongside an array of acts that could headline most O2 venues in their own right, Crystal Castles matched up well. Braced with a bottle of JD in one hand and the mic in the other, photographers stammering at the side of the stage all got they’re chance to snap Alice in action. At times the sound tipped on being unbearable to listen to as Brixton’s hefty sound-system even struggled to cope at moments, but the crowd danced on. An electric ending saw Crystal Castles finish with the famed Platinum Blonde’s cover ‘Not In Love’, leaving most of the crowd still buzzing with excitement as they streamed out of the venue, dripping with sweat but all with a smile on their faces at least.

7/10.