Given Crystal Stilts’ penchant for the morose, neither the title of this third full-length, nor its lugubrious nature, are terribly surprising. Yet whereas previously their moodiness was carried along on a surf-rock wave, this album finds itself mired in melancholia, guitarist JB Townsend and vocalist Brad Hargett drawling their way through the dour drudgery of ‘Spirit In Front Of Me’ and the trippy carnival weirdness of ‘Darken The Door’. It’s not all so oppressive, though: ‘Sticks & Stones’, ‘Memory Room’ and, oddly, the title track add slivers of graceful light to this bleak but captivating collection of noirish tales.
Mischa Pearlman