Crystal Castles – “Frail”

Crystal Castles – “Frail”

A new Crystal Castles song called “Frail” surfaced today, which was a surprise considering the duo of Alice Glass and Ethan Kath broke up last October. As Pitchfork points out, Kath included a pointed statement on the song’s SoundCloud description confirming that Glass does not sing on the new song, later editing it down and adding a reference to the new vocalist “Edith.” The original statement is below:

i wish my former vocalist the best of luck in her future endeavors. i think it can be empowering for her to be in charge of her own project. it should be rewarding for her considering she didn’t appear on Crystal Castles’ best known songs. (she’s not on Untrust Us. “Not In Love,” “Vanished,” “Crimewave,” “Vietnam,” “Magic Spells,” “Knights,” “Air War,” “Leni,” “Lovers Who Uncover,” “Violent Youth,” “Reckless,” “Year of Silence,” “Intimate,” “1991,” “Good Time,” “Violent Dreams” etc.). people often gave her credit for my lyrics and that was fine, i didn’t care.

Glass alluded to the cracks in her relationship with Kath when she announced she was leaving the band in a series of tweets. She wrote:

I am leaving Crystal Castles. My art and my self-expression in any form has always been an attempt towards sincerity, honesty, and empathy for others. For a multitude of reasons both professional and personal I no longer feel that this is possible within CC. Although this is the end of the band, I hope my fans will embrace me as a solo artist in the same way they have embraced Crystal Castles.

You can find the lyrics for “Frail” here. The track is the group’s first new release since 2012’s III, and features Kath fashioning a misty mood out of rotating, pulsating rhythms. Listen below.

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