New Crystal Castles video - Affection

Shot during the band's recent tour in South America, Crystal Castles debuted the newest video for III standout track "Affection." The footage is largely distorted shots of a curiously lacking energy Alice Glass, donned in blonde. Fans of the group won't notice much a change, however, considering most of Crystal Castles' videos end up looking pretty similar by the end (high-energy color contrasts, erratic close-ups, etc.)

Check out the video below and grab III today via Casablanca/Fiction/Universal Republic.

New Crystal Castles - Affection

The newest single from Crystal Castles' upcoming III LP, "Affection," starts off fairly similarly to "Baptism," from the band's previous release II. But Alice Glass' lush modified vocals give it a slightly more romantic feel. Judge for yourself below and grab III November 12.

New Crystal Castles - Wrath Of God

New of Crystal Castles upcoming third album III is already well-known, so this news isn't all that new. Check out "Wrath Of God," the follow up to the album's first single "Plague" below, and grab the album digitally November 5.

New Crystal Castles video - Plague

Recycled from the 1981 film Possession is the brand new fan-made Crystal Castles video "Plague." The track is the first from the duo's upcoming third album, but another one - "Wrath Of God" - is expected to be released Wednesday.

Wednesday Bears: Lollapalooza 2011: Day One Review

Four years up, four years down. If there was any hesitation that I had become a festival regular at this point, it's been thoroughly tossed aside. With every new expansion of the park, there's still the staples: That smell from the mud on the south side, the BMI stage being consistently empty, the north side offering crowd size relief, lines at Kuma's, etc.

But with Lollapalooza's 20th Anniversary, there were some notable changes. First and foremost was the newly expanded Perry's Place, which in four years had expanded from a small gathering to the football field-sized cave. Over those years, festival organizers (and notably Perry Farrell himself) have done a lot for electronica music, growing and moving the stage every year, gathering bigger and bigger acts. In addition, with the size growth, the largest Lolla crowd ever (270,000 + fence jumpers over all three days) didn't seem as overwhelming as it had in years past, sans for a few way, way too overcrowded acts (Foster the People).

Day One:

Festival-goers noted that day one was easily the most crowded booking of all three days, with enormous acts laced throughout the schedule, causing numerous scheduling conflicts. For me, it all started with The Vaccines.

The much-hyped UK act had a very early slot on the first day, sitting comfortably on the south side's main stage. I don't quite know what it is, but the first act I see every year usually delivers, and the group was no exception. Pacing through nearly their entire debut album (closing with "Norgaard"), the four-piece put on at the very least a solid show, setting the trend for early Friday afternoon.

Delta Spirit

After a small break, Delta Spirit were set to play on the same stage. Already familiar with the act after seeing them at Lolla two years ago, I knew kinda what to expect - a rowdier than thou spectacle befitting a band with a little more publicity to back up their name. Live, the band is in another world of exceptional, baiting singles here and there with lead-singer Matthew Vasquez easily leading the crowd. Sure, there were a handful of Muse fans here and there, with just permanent frows of disappointment that they weren't listening to Muse yet (they played the same stage later that night), but they couldn't take away from an outstanding show, led by an incredibly enigmatic front-man. With all respect, if you missed this show, you missed one of the best of the weekend - bar none.

What followed next was a series of glory and frustration, all at Perry's. Through Feed Me, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 1977, and Skrillex, I was immersed in a shroud of deluded assholes, genuinely nice people, and then many more assholes. The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 1977 proved to actually be one of the weekend's all-around best acts, far and away, but wading through Feed Me and Skrillex's crowd was unbearable. It in itself explained this year's greatest flaw and asset - the Perry's crowd.

Looking around the tent's outside, one could easily see throngs of kids in large groups - far too large to have traveled far distances. It's apt that the bros would only hang around the other local bros, because that was all they cared to see, aside from Eminem the next night. It's no coincidence, however, that because of this the shows outside of Perry's were for the most part very comfortable and easy to manage. Still, it's an absolute shame that the generic Perry's crowd dragged down the atmosphere of the park.

Crystal Castles

After a sweaty stagger away from the tent, I crossed shortly over to catch Crystal Castles' set. After a notoriously poor showing in 2009, the set was plagued with technical problems. Alice Glass' mic was continually cut off or spaced out, with the show ending a few minutes early. Still, the crowd seemed more than pleased, despite the clear difficulties, with the duo ending the set with "Not in Love," one of the best songs of the weekend. It's somewhat apparent that this is more of an indoor, late night band, rather than one playing for an oversized crowd of casual onlookers. Maybe the festival scene just isn't right for them.

For the first time in the festival's Chicago history, four headliners would close out the night. The near 100,000 Friday fans were split among the aforementioned Muse on the south side, Girl Talk at Perry's, Coldplay on the north side, or Ratatat at the smaller Google+ stage. I gladly opted for the smaller act, with a much better guaranteed seat.

Ratatat

Ratatat is truly an act better seen in the dark, as was evident with their performance at Coachella. While the fireworks and light shows were meant for Muse and Coldplay, Ratatat gave a fine light show performance tucked in Grant Park's corner. It likely didn't have the bravado of the two other acts' already well-established shows, but it did prove to be a nice outlet for those who don't really care for them.

Aside from the occasional asshole, Friday was an astounding success, just like the previous years (sans 2009). Tomorrow, I'll be posting my Saturday review.

Best Performances: Delta Spirit, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 1977, Ratatat
Worst Performances: Crystal Castles

Highlight: "Bushwick Blues," by Delta Spirit. "Warp 1.9," by Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 1977. "Not In Love," by Crystal Castles. "Louder Pipes," by Ratatat
Lowlight: The Skrillex crowd.

Monday Bears: Lollapalooza Lineup Release Espectacular

Friendly reminder for everyone, or for those of you that don't follow me on Twitter, but the official Lollapalooza 2011 lineup will be released at 1:00 a.m. EST tonight!

A few minor notes before the release: Perry Farrell confirmed not too long ago that Deadmau5 would indeed be one of the six major headliners, which was hinted at last month in an interview Farrell had with Relix.

Also, nine more acts were given away between Friday's post and today, those being: Skrillex, Dom, Crystal Castles, Cold War Kids, White Lies, The Kills, Pretty Lights, Naked and Famous, and Beirut.

Stay tuned tonight for the final revealing, and stick to Twitter for minor updates.

Friday Bears: New Crystal Castles video - Not in Love (ft. Robert Smith)

One of my favorite songs of 2010, Crystal Castles' cover of "Not in Love," featuring Robert Smith received the video treatment from Video Marsh - a Canadian based group of video makers that previously worked with the likes of Caribou.

The actual video is as hazy and distant as you might expect from Crystal Castles and Mr. Smith.

Crystal Castles - Not in Love (ft. Robert Smith)

Crystal Castles - Not In Love from Video Marsh on Vimeo.

Thursday Bears: Bears and Bullets Top 25 Songs of the Year (Pt. IV)

We'll continue our top 25 countdown with songs #10 through #5.

#10: Runaway - Kanye West (ft. Pusha T)
Kanye's had more profound moments in his six year career than "Runaway," but its hard to say he's ever been more endearing and earnest than during this nine minute epic. For a genre and an artist that cultivates so much on self-induced spotlight and showmanship, "Runaway" is Kanye's greatest weakness. The intertwined single-key piano loop opens to depths the artist hasn't had the nerve enough to explore until now: that he isn't as self-enclosed as his detractors may say, and that he's "a jerkoff" sometimes, but we've grown attached to it.

Kanye West - Runaway



#9: Not In Love - Crystal Castles (ft. Robert Smith)
The third official version of "Not In Love," originally from 80s new wave group Platinum Blonde, was reworked with the help of Robert Smith to realize its true potential. Crystal Castles's first cover, featured on Crystal Castles II, was a quieter, more ethereal take on the original with Alice Glass' subdued, electronically dulled vocals spilling over a beating synth pulse. With Smith, "Not In Love" is perfectly akin to the days of the Cure, evoking the unhinged, almost eerily perfect vocals transposed in front of Ethan Kath's ghostly production.

#8: I Can Change - LCD Soundsystem
With the release of This is Happening, most LCD Soundsystem fans went immediately looking for James Murphy's follow up to 2007's "All My Friends," Murphy's all-encompassing single that ended up being one of the best songs of the 2000s. "I Can Change" attempts to lampoon that three-year void, coming almost close enough to rival it. It's a demoralizing love tale, professing that "love is a murderer" without an ounce of dry, boring execution. 

#7: Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
The National have cultivated years of success chiming into to a fan base's disheartening interest the solemn solidarity of despair, illusion and tearful loss. Without it, Matt Beringer and the group cease to be what they truly are, something "Bloodbuzz Ohio" highlights significantly -- a collective movement to find the sordid beauty in everything we may hate to understand.

The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio



#6: Bushwick Blues - Delta Spirit
Delta Spirit may be going through more creative growing pains than I may admit, but "Bushwick Blues" is an epitome of what they can accomplish at their best; roaring, almost undoubtedly epic rock-blues. The earthy love story of a young-hearted, weak and lonely man actually seems profound enough to here to project an image of unrequited retribution - the feeling all of us are able to feel, but never capture quite so well.

Delta Spirit - Bushwick Blues



Stay tuned, we'll return tomorrow with songs #5 - 1.

Wednesday Bears: New Crystal Castles - Not In Love, ft. Robert Smith

The original "Not In Love," off of Crystal Castles' latest album, Crystal Castles II, has gotten the remix treatment from none other than Robert Smith of the Cure. The song, which was actually a Platinum Blonde cover, will be featured on the duo's 7" of the original version, due out Dec. 6, via Fiction Records.

Grab the amazing mix below.

Crystal Castles (ft. Robert Smith) - Not in Love (Platinum Blonde Cover) - MP3