Three critically acclaimed albums, years of notoriously storming live shows and arguably pioneers of the two-piece electronic act riding the internet hype train – Crystal Castles has definitely ended on a high.

Alice Glass tweeted on Wednesday that she was ‘leaving Crystal Castles’ and bandmate Ethan Kath out of absolutely nowhere, but having been one of the most volatile acts of the last ten years it doesn’t seem as surprising as the initial reaction from die-hard fans would indicate.

Glass has announced that she will be ‘a solo artist’, which will be a saving grace for fans of her iconic vocal style. But what sort of music will she produce? Solo artist are known to depart slightly from the bands they were in previously and still have success – Morrissey, Björk, Annie Lennox just to name a few, although admittedly of completely different genres.However, this gives room for Glass to champion a new style, perhaps more in the electronic genre.

A split, as there was always going to be sooner or later, comes at probably the best time. Crystal Castles’s third outing III showed a few signs of weariness (definitely not a 9/10,NME) and, as such, hinted at dwindling inspirations – but there were still some bangers on it: Plague, Sad Eyes, et al. Ending now, rather than putting out a mediocre fourth LP, is absolutely the right call.

Carl White

photo 1: wikimedia.org
photo 2: metro.co.uk