By: Stephanie Konarski

Rating: 6/11

Crystal Stilts, a garage-pop band from Brooklyn, plays music with a rhythm you can clap your hands to riding underneath swaying, eerie melodies. The music slinks like a spectral with the lead singer’s voice drenched in high reverb as he sings echoey lyrics over the lo-fi instruments. With songs such as “SinKing,” they emit a sound similar to a combination of Joy Division and The Cure; that is, if The Cure was stripped of any happy optimism and was left with a moping, mellow, minimalist sound. The Crystal Stilts’ music has a railroad beat, and with the “I-recorded-this-in-my-basement” type of sound, it sometimes feels like they are playing and singing as they walk through The Midtown Tunnel. Some could argue the music is dull, as it can be repetitive. For example, “Shattered Shine” does repeat the lyrics “shine, shine, shine” one too many times, but it works in a way that melds the vocals with the music like another instrument. In general, Crystal Stilts create ambient music, and a close listen highlights its simple, stripped-down quality with its subtle touches of synth sounds and some surf-rock guitar added for a little extra flavor.