Electro-punk laced with distorted game-noise, a good serve of ‘je-m’en-foutisme’ and the courage to mix it all with an out of control mic-test by singer Alice Glass. One song (‘Alice Practice’), that was all Ethan Kath (the brain behind Canada's Crystal Castles) needed to get hold of the record deal on which he released debut ‘Crystal Castles’. That first album blew them in the direction of Kiewit in ’08, with a slightly legendary visit to the now defunct Chateau. The AB Club and Main Hall, Botanique, Dour and Trix have since groaned – admittedly, in pleasure – under the weight of the duo’s euphoric live sets.

That Kath prefers to work on beats more than album titles was made obvious by successor ‘Crystal Castles (II)’. Aside from a real radio hit - ‘Not in Love’ with the voice of Robert Smith – it also provided them with an ‘immortal’ status. They remained true to their style but not to their label, moving on to Fiction Records (Polydor/Universal).

Number III was released in late 2012, sounded just as crazy as the best of the previous albums, and was chosen as album of the year by Hype Machine.

Since April 2015, there has been a new singer: Edith Frances. The duo played 2 sold-out concerts in London earlier this year, to rave reviews in the British press. Recently released singles ‘Concrete’ and ‘Char’ certainly already have us hoping for the best on new album Amnesty (I), to be released on August 19.

Aftershow Paper Hats at AB Club.