Sacred Bones is elated to present a new EP from a NY band that has been very near and dear to our hearts for many years now, the Crystal Stilts. Recorded in early 2011 by Gary Olson, with the band s guitarist JB Townsend producing, Radiant Door unveils some of the Stilts most dynamic recordings to date. The Album features the beguiling blend of romanticism and mystery that one expects from singer and lyricist Brad Hargett. Radiant Door reflects the band s experiments with specific ideas in the studio and what they ve been excited about and listening to, including Blue Orchids, Sanford Clark, and many more. Opening track Dark Eyes may be their strongest song to date, unshackling them from their fuzzy reputation, which, even at its heaviest, could never obscure one from this bands dexterous song-craft. This has been a remarkable year for the band, including the release of their sophomore full-length, In Love With Oblivion, to rave reviews, and almost continual touring since. Fall plans consist mostly of staying close to home and working on new material, with some additional US and European touring scheduled for November.
J**N
Nice cover - good music
First class vinyl print and very nice cover. Miss a autograph though. Downloading service worked just fine. I like it
G**N
"... breaks like daylight over the Brooklyn prairie."
Fresh from this year's long-playing smash In Love With Oblivion , Brad Hargett's gloomy crew are in a festive mood heading towards the new year, offering up the Radiant Door EP as a tasty morsel to devour during the holiday season.Rounded out by two covers, these five total tracks temper Oblivion's graveyard boogie and blend it into a positive, playful outing. And there are tantalising hints as to a future sound too. Sure, their outdoorsy 60s psyche-pop, decades from the shiny contemporary take on the genre, remains intact, just as does the band's reverb fetish, but the mesmeric Lee Hazlewood cover "Still As The Night" is so striking thanks to its spaghetti western / garage mesh as to set tongues wagging for the next LP. Bleak, late-50s rock `n' roll cuts like this are crying out for dusting down and re-imagining and these boys may just be the ones to do it.The second cover, "Low Profile", is less radical, despite its hazy keyb-organ and Hargett's doomed vocal that steer it away from the Blue Orchids post-punk original. More familiar, the dirge-like organ of "Front Inside The Asylums" is lightened by a trademark jangle that breaks like daylight over the Brooklyn prairie.Justifying the spend, the title track and "Dark Eyes" power their way with strong melodies and catchy Velvets guitar lines. The latter's Stones-ian stomp is just a bonus, so too is one of Hargett's cleanest vocal turns to date.Along with prolific retro psyche-punk practitioners Black Lips, Crystal Stilts are fast becoming one of the most reliable and best American acts about. Merry Christmas guys - you deserve it on your current run.Advised downloads: "Dark Eyes" and "Still As The Night".
B**E
Fabulous
I love this band. Excellent 5 song mini lp.
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