Pick of the week
The Ghost Who Walks
Karen Elson
XL Recordings
Rating: 4/5
The garage-Americana of the opening two songs on “The Ghost Who Walks” is pleasant, but they sound like lazy, nostalgic summer afternoons on Radio 1 rather than anything worth caring about.
It’s when Karen Elson waltzes all over and away from Americana – as on the latin-influenced “Pretty Babies”, which is ready to soundtrack those musky evenings when it is too hot to sleep, or on the beautiful cabaret dream of “100 Years From Now” – that the album really works.
I want more bluegrass, more unexpected steps from Elson, but that’s good. I want more of her best, because it’s worth it.
–Charlotte Geater
Same Name but Newly Fortified
Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles
Polydor
Rating: 4/5
Crystal Castles’ second album is called Crystal Castles.
Their debut was called Crystal Castles.
Their delusions to be Led Zeppelin (or perhaps Weezer) withstanding, programmer Ethan Kath and singer/ she-devil Alice Glass have created another impressive record.
The electro- violence of opener “Fainting Spells” and single “Doe Deer” give a taste of what is to come.
While not as consistent or revolutionary as their debut the powerful digitrance of “Baptism” and hypnotic scales of “Intimate” are stunning.
–Alex Kealy
Aurally objectionable and underwheming
Immersion
Pendulum
Warner Brothers
Rating: 3/5
Immersion furnishes Pendulum’s drum ‘n’ bass aesthetic with a wider range of rock and dance influences.
A total of three collaborations, including a cameo from metallers In Flames attest to this attempt at diversity.
Despite the crashing “Salt in the Wounds” and “Comprachicos”, Immersion lacks the conviction of yore, and hardcore fans may be disappointed by this musical dilution.
This uncomfortable conjunction generates a vacuous din which is simultaneously aurally objectionable and underwhelming.
–Victoria Randall
