Ethan Kath has released a new track under the moniker of "Crystal Castles," confirming that although Alice Glass has left the duo, the band will live on. The track is titled "Frail" and features female vocals, although Pitchfork has clarified that, despite sounding somewhat like the former frontwoman, it's not Glass. The vocalist has not been identified as of yet, so we can only hypothesize what Kath and Castles plans on doing for future music and on the road.
Kath left a lengthy "statement" of sorts along with the track on Soundcloud, which he has since removed. It starts out very supportive of Glass but gets passive-aggressive real quick. The comment serves as a reminder to listeners not-in-the-know that he writes most of the lyrics, regardless of who sings them. Thankyouverymuch.
"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," he starts, before it goes downhill. "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."
That somewhat flies in the face of what Glass posted when she left the group last year.
"My art and my self-expression in any form has always been an attempt towards sincerity, honesty, and empathy for others," she wrote. "For a multitude of reasons both professional and personal I no longer feel that this is possible within CC."
With apologies to glass, Kath sounds pretty good on his own, if the recording of "Frail" is any indication. You can check it out below.
