The days after Christmas can be a funny time. Having hung your brandy-soaked body out to dry, it is not uncommon to be hit with a little dose of winter depression. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of these darker times in order to overcome them. New York’s Crystal Stilts have unleashed a clutch of divine 7 inch singles as well as two exquisite LP’s since 2008 that have provided a much-needed reminder of why I love this junk in the first place and have instilled sufficient courage in my heart to write these lines.
It’s a necessary condition of existence to dream, believe and be enthused. There are times we need a reminder of why we are alive, to escape the dull-as-dogshit-day-to-day, to take protagonism in our lives, to reassert what we hold as true.
The Crystal Stilts have been marked out as unswerving 60’s garage loyalists, with a sound that combines traces of the Velvets and a spiky, homespun C86 edge; Dark, poetic, hearfelt guitar-driven pop as the backdrop to singer Brad Hargett’s wry, understated lyrics. Championed by underground luminaries such as Dean Wareham (ex-Galaxie 500 and Luna) and Stephen Pastel, The Crystal Stilts have gone about their work in an unassuming manner, building an impassioned cult following and continuing to enthrall with every new release. A sound punctuated by the eerie echo of valve amps, tense treble guitar and a tender, trash-pop aesthetic, the group first entered my world with the glorious “Love is A Wave” b/w “Sugar Baby” on the Slumberland label, 1 minute 57 seconds of achingly tender punk pop, the dry vocal delivery recalling “Bull of The Woods”-period Elevators with a guest appearance by Moe Tucker on drums – if you ever need a reminder that, “YES, YES!! “I can do that”, this is it…
2008’s debut LP “Alight of Night” (also on Slumberland) showcased the group’s raw spirit and inventiveness and a much longed-for rediscovery of reverb in rock and roll. The outstanding “Converging in the Quiet” recalls a stripped-down Jesus & Mary Chain, setting the tone for the whole album; minor chord Surf, the tender tragedy of Roy Orbison through the jaded drawl of a latter-day Jim Reid. The 2011 long player “In Love with Oblivion” demonstrates a brighter, more textured sound; a sparkling confident experimental pop release leading the listener to more reflective places encapsulated in “Silver Sun”; a fragile, sweeping autumnal soundtrack that touches on Felt’s 80’s introspective territory.
The “Radiant Door” EP was released in the middle of last month on Sacred Bones and represents a marked departure from previous Crystal Stilts vinyl ventures. Gone is the eerie echo of valve amps and the drafty Brooklyn loft edge, to be replaced by a more diverse, eclectic approach and a marked shift into the Manchester bedsit melancholy of The Blue Orchids; a collection of tunes that pay homage both lyrically and aurally to Martin Hannett’s Kafka-esque paranoia, including an accurate, respectful reading of the Orchid’s classic “Low Profile”. The new release also offers traces of minimalist experimentalism in the opening “Dark Eyes” and closing “Frost in The Asylum” as well as the sweeping tenderness of the EP’s title track: Mersey Beat meets Johnny Cash in Salford precinct…The purest pop an aching, solitary heart could wish for. Dream, believe, be enthused…
