Crystal Stilts: "Shake The Shackles"

Shake The Shackles 7" cover art

Leave it to the perfect timing of Slumberland to decide to drop the new Crystal Stilts single just weeks into my October resurgence into the brilliance of Alight of Night. Being that I was already in the mood, so to speak, it didn't take much for me to latch on to this new slice of reverb-drenched and Rod Serling-approved pop goodness, but the fact that it's just flat-out great didn't hurt either.

[MP3]: Crystal Stilts :: Shake The Shackles

The undead strut of B-side "Magnetic Moon" isn't to be missed, either, and it's exclusive to this single. Limited edition white vinyl copies are available right now, but probably not for long, so grab it while you can!

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Frankie Rose

Cover art from "Thee Only One"

Among other things (THE ROPERS!), I'm really excited to see Frankie Rose and the Outs at the Slumberland Anniversary show in DC on November 13! Her new single, sans the Outs, is out now on Slumberland, of course, and it's a fucking gem of a record. Musically, Frankie reminds me a great deal of Linton in terms of vocal chops and melodic style. While the charging A-Side "Thee Only One" recalls "Been Hiding" or even late-period Henry's Dress ala "Only 21", the graceful epic "Hollow Life" on flip side could be comparatively called Frankie Rose's "Bang Bang Bang" – though perhaps sounding a bit more Tracyanne than Linton amidst the layers and layers of reverb. Get this single now, because in a couple years you'll regret it if you don't.

[MP3]: Frankie Rose :: Thee Only One (Way Recommended!!!)

Frankie Rose and the Outs on MySpace!

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Love Is A Wave

I just realized, thanks to Mike Slumberland on Facebook, that there's a new Crystal Stilts video for their single "Love Is A Wave". It's pretty rad for more or less just being a video collage of archive footage. In fact, as the first commenter on YouTube puts it, "this is the exact succession of images I wanted to see at this exact moment" – funny, though, true. Check it out!

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Crystal Stilts: "Prismatic Room" Video!

The Crystal Stilts' debut LP Alight of Night will go down as being one of my very favorite records of the year. It's become my go-to record for walking around the city this Winter and it's given me even more appreciation for how well tremelo and reverb work together when covered in fuzz. When I saw them back in October they were amazing and life-affirming and damn well blew Vivian Girls right out of the water. But anyway, they've just released a brand new video for "Prismatic Room." I kinda wish they would have made a video for a different song – "Crystal Stilts" or "Bright Night" perhaps – but the video is dreamy and blurry and beautiful, just like the song, so I really cannot complain. You should definitely watch it and enjoy all the 8mm goodness.



Crystal Stilts on MySpace!
They're heading overseas in February. There's lots of dates on MySpace.

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Hey! Christmas Mix coming up later! Get really excited!

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