Crystal Castles, the Canadian electronic duo released their aptly-titled second album Crystal Castles II earlier this fall to much hype and excitement because well duh, Crystal Castles I was awesome and shit. Anyway, the video (the first of which comes off the new album to my knowledge) is here.
Baptism employs the whole lo-fi aesthetic that's all the rage these days, even though the band themselves would never reach a fidelity below "high". The particular style is no doubt thanks to the influence of Eric Wareheim (one half of Tim & Eric) who has slowly been taking the indie music video scene by storm with efforts such as Major Lazer's Hold the Line and MGMT's The Youth. The actual video though (unless otherwise noted) isn't directed by Wareheim but it becomes quite noticeable when you really fixate on it.
The video for Baptism clocks in at 2 minutes and 50 seconds; over a minute shorter than as the song appears on the album. Crystal Castles would never be considered a progressive electronic band; it's not as if there's no artistry within their music, it's just that they make up for lack of length with actual depth within their sound. No song may be as long or groaningly self-referentially titled as Daft Punk's Too Long but there's just as damn much going on. This applies to the video as well; it's brevity gives itself the image that its handling of strange imagery is just obligatory; but it's actually quite powerful.
The female half, Alice Glass, who seems to almost be going for a darker-Karen O. dances rapidly but not enthusiastically against projected images; some of them herself and some of her fellow bandmate. The effect is not necessarily surreal, but it is hypnotic. It doesn't try too hard to wow you or be about something but in its abbreviated form it compliments the song perfectly.
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