Music Metrics Vault

Crystal Castles

Data updated on 2024-11-12 13:28:43 UTC
Fusing lo-res electronic noise and pop hooks so effortlessly that it can seem accidental, Crystal Castles began as producer/multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath's solo project in late 2003. Kath got the moniker from the name of She-Ra's dwelling in the He-Man and Masters of the Universe cartoon series; it's also the name of a 1983 Atari video game, which is oddly appropriate, considering that one component of the band's distinctive sound comes from a keyboard modified with an Atari 5200 sound chip. When Kath collaborated with singer Alice Glass on some songs in 2006, Crystal Castles' lineup was complete. One of the songs the pair recorded, "Alice Practice," was something of an accident: it was intended to be a demo of Glass testing out a microphone, but its presence on MySpace piqued record labels' interest. "Alice Practice" was released as a limited-edition 7" on Merok Records, also home to Klaxons; its 500-copy run sold out in three days. Kath and Glass worked on their own songs and also honed their remixing skills, tweaking songs for Klaxons as well as GoodBooks, Uffie, Health, and Bloc Party. Tours with the Presets and Metric in 2007 set the stage for the release of Crystal Castles' self-titled debut album, which Last Gang released early in 2008. The duo returned in 2010 with another self-titled album; when it leaked onto the Internet in late April of that year, the band released it digitally soon after, with a physical release following that May. For 2012's more streamlined III, the duo decamped to Warsaw, where they recorded direct to tape, eschewing any computer-assisted recording. Glass left the project in October 2014 to pursue a solo career; in April 2015, Kath resurfaced with a new Crystal Castles track, "Frail," which featured new vocalist Edith Frances. Another new song, "Deicide," surfaced that July, a few months before the new lineup's live debut at the Soundswild Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa that November. The duo debuted more new material in early 2016, and Crystal Castles' fourth album Amnesty appeared that August. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi

Total plays

1.8 billion
Updated on 2024-11-12

Country

Canada

Monthly listeners

7,506,777

Followers

2,764,614

Top Cities

  1. United States
    91,821 listeners
  2. Turkey
    85,446 listeners
  3. Poland
    82,261 listeners
  4. Mexico
    80,204 listeners
  5. Chile
    76,805 listeners

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Most popular tracks

Track Plays Duration Release date
Kerosene
Kerosene
243,920,018 3:12 2012-01-01
Vanished
Vanished
220,087,137 4:03 2008-03-16
Crimewave
Crimewave
206,724,318 4:18 2008-03-16
Transgender
Transgender
183,946,584 3:05 2012-01-01
Leni (Crystal Castles vs GoodBooks)
Leni (Crystal Castles vs GoodBooks)
112,774,799 4:16 2021-11-18
Untrust Us
Untrust Us
96,166,351 3:06 2008-03-16
Empathy
Empathy
90,227,096 4:11 2010-01-01
Not In Love - Radio Version
Not In Love - Radio Version
83,774,543 3:49 2010-01-01
Suffocation
Suffocation
72,563,384 4:02 2010-01-01
Char
Char
37,044,981 3:08 2016-08-19
Baptism
Baptism
34,650,226 4:13 2010-01-01
Knights
Knights
30,397,475 3:14 2008-03-16
Celestica
Celestica
29,002,685 3:50 2010-01-01
Magic Spells
Magic Spells
28,149,406 6:07 2008-03-16
Courtship Dating
Courtship Dating
19,717,653 3:32 2008-03-16
Intimate
Intimate
17,798,160 4:45 2010-01-01
Pap Smear
Pap Smear
16,863,553 3:43 2010-01-01
Alice Practice
Alice Practice
16,272,022 2:41 2008-03-16
Affection
Affection
16,251,293 2:37 2012-01-01
Plague
Plague
13,817,535 4:57 2012-01-01
Violent Youth
Violent Youth
12,315,887 4:22 2012-01-01
Vietnam
Vietnam
12,136,087 5:08 2010-01-01
Fleece
Fleece
11,771,494 2:35 2016-08-16
Year Of Silence
Year Of Silence
10,596,840 4:54 2010-01-01
Air War
Air War
10,549,869 4:12 2008-03-16
Black Panther
Black Panther
10,428,361 2:57 2008-03-16
Telepath
Telepath
10,019,310 3:55 2012-01-01
Concrete
Concrete
8,899,919 3:16 2016-06-29
Pale Flesh
Pale Flesh
8,721,145 2:59 2012-01-01
Reckless
Reckless
8,405,467 3:28 2008-03-16
Frail
Frail
8,280,499 2:49 2016-08-19
Wrath Of God
Wrath Of God
8,243,628 3:07 2012-01-01
Sad Eyes
Sad Eyes
8,031,988 3:27 2012-01-01
1991
1991
7,959,339 1:54 2008-03-16
Doe Deer
Doe Deer
7,929,315 1:38 2010-01-01
Chloroform
Chloroform
7,741,730 3:09 2016-08-19
Violent Dreams
Violent Dreams
7,145,402 4:35 2010-01-01
Femen
Femen
6,750,084 2:33 2016-08-19
Good Time
Good Time
6,698,700 2:56 2008-03-16
Love and Caring
Love and Caring
6,671,262 2:19 2008-03-16
Through the Hosiery
Through the Hosiery
6,240,853 3:07 2008-03-16
Xxzxcuzx Me
Xxzxcuzx Me
6,240,240 1:54 2008-03-16
Tell Me What to Swallow
Tell Me What to Swallow
6,055,888 2:14 2008-03-16
Lovers Who Uncover - Crystal Castles Vs. The Little Ones
Lovers Who Uncover - Crystal Castles Vs. The Little Ones
5,935,295 5:11 2007-01-01
Child I Will Hurt You
Child I Will Hurt You
5,758,358 3:33 2012-01-01
Sadist
Sadist
5,728,114 2:30 2016-08-19
Enth
Enth
5,120,933 3:29 2016-08-19
Fainting Spells
Fainting Spells
4,987,715 2:44 2010-01-01
Insulin
Insulin
4,806,927 1:47 2012-01-01
Birds
Birds
4,652,970 2:31 2010-01-01
Their Kindness Is Charade
Their Kindness Is Charade
4,114,838 3:45 2016-08-19
Mercenary
Mercenary
4,105,667 2:38 2012-01-01
Not In Love
Not In Love
4,092,873 3:31 2010-01-01
Ornament
Ornament
3,162,172 4:08 2016-08-19
I Am Made Of Chalk
I Am Made Of Chalk
3,061,947 3:09 2010-01-01
Air War - David Wolf Remix
Air War - David Wolf Remix
2,485,046 3:23 2008-03-16
Crimewave - Radio Edit
Crimewave - Radio Edit
2,345,723 2:54 2008-09-21
Teach Her How To Hunt
Teach Her How To Hunt
2,099,196 1:56 2016-08-19
Mother Knows Best - 2004 Version
Mother Knows Best - 2004 Version
1,683,446 2:01 2010-01-01
Trash Hologram
Trash Hologram
1,420,882 2:16 2008-03-16
Insectica - 2004 Version
Insectica - 2004 Version
1,116,700 1:49 2010-01-01
Not In Love - Robert Smith Mix
Not In Love - Robert Smith Mix
1,077,750 3:49 2010-01-01
Seed - 2004 Version
Seed - 2004 Version
983,152 1:43 2010-01-01
Divebomb - Crystal Castles Remix
Divebomb - Crystal Castles Remix
711,317 5:44 2007-01-01
Death - Crystal Castles Remix
Death - Crystal Castles Remix
645,500 4:59 2009-01-19
Death - Crystal Castles Remix
Death - Crystal Castles Remix
606,661 4:45 2008-01-01
Vanished - Radio Edit
Vanished - Radio Edit
465,623 3:01 2008-07-21
Celestica - Single Version
Celestica - Single Version
457,775 3:48 2010-01-01
Suffocation - Memory Tapes Remix
Suffocation - Memory Tapes Remix
293,259 5:04 2010-01-01
Crimewave - LA Riots Remix
Crimewave - LA Riots Remix
280,283 4:49 2008-09-21
Crimewave - Sinden Remix
Crimewave - Sinden Remix
256,800 4:04 2008-09-21
Crystal Castles Christmas
Crystal Castles Christmas
251,721 1:39 2015-07-04
Vanished - Nasty Nav Remix
Vanished - Nasty Nav Remix
241,658 5:32 2008-07-21
Celestica - Thurston Moore Remix
Celestica - Thurston Moore Remix
205,712 3:37 2010-01-01
Celestica - Bear In Heaven Remix
Celestica - Bear In Heaven Remix
178,433 3:27 2010-01-01
Crimewave - Lzrtag Remix
Crimewave - Lzrtag Remix
177,598 4:15 2008-09-21
Crimewave - Keith Remix
Crimewave - Keith Remix
176,822 6:41 2008-09-21
Tell Me What to Swallow - Beat Demo
Tell Me What to Swallow - Beat Demo
175,272 2:15 2008-07-21
Baptism (Indyans Edit)
Baptism (Indyans Edit)
142,624 3:32 2018-01-13

New releases

Char
Char
2016-12-07
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
Amnesty (I)
Amnesty (I)
2016-08-19
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
Fleece
Fleece
2016-08-16
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
Concrete
Concrete
2016-06-29
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
Plague
Plague
2012-07-25
[Shock Entertainment]
(III)
(III)
2012-01-01
[Shock Entertainment]
(III)
(III)
2012-01-01
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
(III)
(III)
2012-01-01
[Polydor Records]
II
II
2011-04-25
[Shock Entertainment]
(II)
(II)
2011-01-01
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
Not In Love
Not In Love
2010-01-01
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
Crystal Castles (II)
Crystal Castles (II)
2010-01-01
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
Crystal Castles (II)
Crystal Castles (II)
2010-01-01
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
Celestica
Celestica
2010-01-01
[[PIAS] Recordings Catalogue]
Crimewave
Crimewave
2008-09-21
[Different Recordings]
Vanished
Vanished
2008-07-21
[Different Recordings]
Courtship Dating
Courtship Dating
2008-04-21
[Different Recordings]
Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles
2008-03-18
[Last Gang]
Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles
2008-03-16
[Different Recordings]