“We are Crystal Castles. We are one boy and one girl. We are named after She-Ra’s home. We play rough.” That short bio is about all the background information you’ll get out of Crystal Castles’ Web site. They cultivate an air of mystery like some sort of musical secret agents. Rumor has it they wanted to go on a basement tour this summer, and whether or not such a feat were possible, they did the next best thing when they performed at the above-ground basement that is the Roxy on the Sunset Strip.

The show had been sold out for weeks, which is to be expected from a band with over 130,000 MySpace fans, and this was one of the last chances to see them headline before they embark on a tour with Nine Inch Nails.

The capacity crowd cheered as multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass took the stage in total darkness. Occasional strobe lights and a backlit neon arrangement provided the only glimpses of our mysterious musicians. Ethan hammered away on countless keyboards, synthesizers and drum pads, while Alice sang, screamed and made weird whispering noises through all their hits, including “Crimewave” and the new single “Courtship Dating.” The audience danced the night away, and supported Alice on several of her crowd-surfing adventures.

Laws of economics (stay with me here) state that scarcity creates value, and Crystal Castles’ anonymity as the anti-rockstars only made me desperately want to know everything about them. You’ll be hard-pressed to find clear photos of either member, they shoot down any suggestions of fame, and they always understate their own popularity.

But on the other hand, they did add another Roxy show two nights later due to overwhelming demand, and they are also the newest group to enter the ring up against the big record labels. You can find a full quality, fully tagged and fully free mp3 of “Crimewave” for download on Nine Inch Nails’ Web site. After my encounter with Crystal Castles, it’s clear that they’re a shining example of a band that is truly in it for the music. Expect much more from Crystal Castles in the upcoming months, because whether they like it or not, they’re going to be huge.

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