It took a few years for the world to catch up with Brooklyn indie gloomsters
Crystal Stilts. By the time their initial single and 12" EP were reissued in the form of this self-titled disc in 2008, they were still at the forefront of a new wave of reverb-abusing bedroom recording artists, despite the fact that these songs were three or four years old at the time. The six songs that make up
Crystal Stilts were recorded in full by singer Brad Hargett and guitarist JB Townsend, two ex-residents of Florida who moved up to Brooklyn and released the songs in small batches on their own Feathery Tongue label. The band has always existed as a well-curated pastiche of classic noise pop influences, and their earliest recordings are no exception. From the cavernous beginning notes of "Crippled Croon," Hargett's wobbly baritone brings to mind
Joy Division's Ian Curtis or the most poorly recorded
Orange Juice tracks, while the song's jangly percussion and rays of feedback-laden melodies recall early
Jesus and Mary Chain or the muted pop perfection of
Black Tambourine. Realizing that songs like "Converging in the Quiet" were put to tape in 2004 and 2005, it's also possible to detect the subtle influence of more modern indie goth purveyors like
Interpol and
the Rapture, who were both enjoying peaks in recognition around that time. The set's most interesting material comes in "Shattered Shine" and "Lights" from their debut 7", the former of which was re-recorded for their 2008 Slumberland debut
Alight of Night. Though all the songs showcase the band in its most elemental beginning form, these songs capture the inspiration and excitement of the project at its rawest point of inception, and their drippy psychedelic leanings expose a time when the group was as influenced by early
Pink Floyd as by the minimal thump of
the Velvet Underground. ~ Fred Thomas