Crystal Stilts: In Love with Oblivion
Label: Slumberland
On their second album, Brooklyn mope-poppers Crystal Stilts expand upon the sound that made their debut so engaging, adding a welcome burst of energy that makes many of the songs danceable and even sunny at times, if not exactly happy. Brad Hargett's wonderfully deadpan baritone still gets a chance to sound haunting and flat-out depressing at times, but it also gets balanced out by joyous bursts of chiming guitars, jaunty bass lines and bright organ on upbeat songs like "Half a Moon" and "Shake the Shackles." In Love with Oblivion invites those old comparisons to Joy Division, the Velvet Underground and the Doors comparisons, but Crystal Stilts have come into their own on this one.
