Crystal Castles

Often bratty, occasionally beautiful, Toronto-based boy-girl electro duo Crystal Castles deconstructs dance hits and rebuilds them to the circuit-bent, 8-bit beat of ancient game consoles. (The band does share its moniker with a 1983 Atari hit, after all.) While lead programmer Ethan Kath and singer Alice Glass earned most of their early acclaim as a remix act (Bloc Party, Klaxons, Uffie), their two self-titled full-length albums—released in 2008 and 2010—were full of unique, rip-it-up-and-hotwire-it-again impact that volleys wildly between deafening cyberpunk bombast and oscillating waves of cold, futurist dystopia. One song, “Not In Love,” from the 2010 record, even features god of mope Robert Smith. That synchronicity makes sense, though, considering the band’s rising profile. Last year alone, they played well over a dozen mega-festivals in addition to an extensive headlining tour. 

Updated 07/26/2011