"Crimewave" is a song performed by Canadian

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

band

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, formed by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass, who later left and was replaced by Edith Frances. Crystal Castles were know ...

and American

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

from Crystal Castles' self-titled debut album. The song acts as both Crystal Castles and Health's debut singles in addition to being the first single from the album ''

''. It was first released on August 13, 2007 by Trouble Records, accompanied by the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"XxzxcuZx Me". The song is a re-working of the Health original track of the same name written by the band members of Health for their eponymous debut album. It was re-written by

Ethan Kath Claudio Paolo Palmieri known professionally as Ethan Kath, is a co-founder and songwriter/producer for Crystal Castles and previously the bassist of Kïll Cheerleadër and Die Mannequin. ''Rolling Stone'' named Crystal Castles icons of 20 Years o ...

of Crystal Castles. Kath also produced the re-worked track. The song contains prominent electro and

chiptune Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The t ...

musical characteristics. "Crimewave" achieved critical praise from most contemporary music critics. Critics complimented the song's originality and emotion it brought to the electronic music scene. The single was accompanied by a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

upon its re-release in 2008. The track was performed by Crystal Castles at

All Points West Music & Arts Festival The All Points West Music & Arts Festival was an annual music and arts festival held at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. First held in August 2008, it was hosted by Goldenvoice/AEG Live events, the same company that hosts the simila ...

in 2009. "Crimewave" was used in '' Gossip Girl No.1'' and features on its companion soundtrack '' OMFGG – Original Music Featured on Gossip Girl No. 1''., and was later featured on the in-game radio for the 2016 video game ''

Watch Dogs 2 ''Watch Dogs 2'' (stylized as ''WATCH_DOGS 2'') is a 2016 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the sequel to 2014's ''Watch Dogs'' and the second installment in the ''Watch Dogs'' series. It was ...

''.

Background

Originally

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

and composed by the members of

for their self-titled debut album, "Crimewave" was re-written and re-worked by

to act as both bands' debut singles as well as the first single from Crystal Castles' self-titled debut album. The reworking significantly lengthened the original song while retaining the prominence of the original vocals by Health. After originally being released on August 13, 2007, as a single

backed with The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

Crystal Castles' "XxzxcuZx Me", "Crimewave" was re-released on September 21, 2008, to coincide with Crystal Castles' North American tour with Health., again in single form but with Crystal Castles' "Alice Practice" replacing "XxzxcuZx Me" as the B-side. The single's cover artwork was also modified for the re-release, with the white background being replaced with a black background.

Composition

Musically, "Crimewave" builds from now-retro

electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a genre of music that fuses 1980s electro, new wave and synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) ...

to a clattering mix of

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

. The song consists of simple, catchy beats backed by lively

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

sounds. "Crimewave" was composed as breezy, off-kilter

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

. Paul Lester from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' likened "Crimewave" to the sound of

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown P ...

from

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

intoning blankly over

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

at their most synthetic. The song consists only of the following lyrics which are repeated vocally by Health in

monotone Monotone refers to a sound, for example music or speech, that has a single unvaried tone. See: monophony. Monotone or monotonicity may also refer to: In economics *Monotone preferences, a property of a consumer's preference ordering. *Monotonic ...

throughout the song: "Eyes lit on sharp threats from dark lips, but lights press the soft skin to rough hands". "Crimewave" follows a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of Em, C, Am, Bm, Em, C, G, Bm. "Crimewave" is set in the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of common time with an

uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

metronome of 121

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

Critical reception

Mehan Jayasuriya of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

positively reviewed the "Crimewave" saying that it "might be a remix, but it sure as hell doesn't sound like one, a testament to the fact that keyboard wizard Ethan Kath manages to dress the song up in the Castles' trademark icy hedonism." Brian Reid of ''Prefix Magazine'' commented that "Crimewave" shows the depth of Crystal Castles as much more than just a dance-focused electro band. Reid went on to say: "On the tail end of 'Crimewave,' Kath lets vocal loop persist while knocking the bottom out of the track, resulting in a moment of startling beauty." Reid also said that "Crimewave" allows its listener to hear an emotive digital voice display a fragility usually lacking in

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. Colm Larkin from '' Clash'' reviewed the "brilliant track" saying: "Amongst a luxurious electro bassline, measured beat and achingly pretty electronic melodies, the robotic voice is scratched and split so the pleading words take on a monotonous, unknowable tone. The result combines cool electronic detachment with an undercurrent of torrid emotion, like hearing a robot plead for its life. Yet there's also that beat that helps you forget the blubbering tin man and want to dance to genuinely innovative and exciting electronic music that does have a heart." Andy Peterson from

Contactmusic.com Contactmusic.com is an online magazine of cultural criticism based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, and ...

said that "Crimewave" made Crystal Castles "critically untouchable". The track was also highlighted as one of the album's strongest elements by Jamil Ahmad of

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

. The song was further deemed as one of the best dance tracks of the decade by

Ricardo Baca Ricardo Baca (born ) is an American journalist best known for being the first full-time marijuana rights editor for a major American newspaper. He was an editor at ''The Denver Post'', producing '' The Cannabist'' for over three years until Decem ...

of ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

''. In October 2011, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' placed the Crystal Castles song at number 149 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

Formats and listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Crimewave": *UK 7" #"Crimewave" (

, Benjamin Miller, Jake Duzsik, John Flamiglietti, Jupiter Keyes) – 4:15 #"XxzxcuZx Me" (

Alice Glass Margaret Osborn (born 25 August 1988), known professionally as Alice Glass, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is the co-founder and former frontwoman of the electronic band Crystal Castles. In 2014, she embarked on a solo career. She rel ...

, Ethan Kath) – 1:58 *UK CD1" #"Crimewave" (Edit) – 2:58 #"Crimewave" (Remix) – 4:26 #"XxzxcuZx Me" – 1:58 *French 12" #"Crimewave (Radio Edit)" – 2:54 #"Crimewave ( Sinden Remix)" – 4:04 #"Crimewave (LA Riots Remix)" – 4:50 #"Crimewave (Keith Remix)" – 6:41 *Digital EP #"Crimewave (Radio Edit)" – 2:54 #"Crimewave (Sinden Remix)" – 4:04 #"Crimewave (LA Riots Remix)" – 4:50 #"Crimewave (Keith Remix)" – 6:41 #"Crimewave (LZRTAG Remix)" – 4:15 *UK CD2 #"Crimewave (Gentile Radio Edit)" – 2:52 #"Crimewave (LA Riots Remix)" – 4:48 #"Crimewave (Keith Remix)" – 6:39 #"Crimewave (Sinden Remix)" – 4:02 #"Crimewave (Album Version)" – 4:18 *U.S. digital download #"Crimewave" – 4:25 #"Alice Practice" (Alice Glass, Ethan Kath) – 2:42

Credits and personnel

Songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

–

, Benjamin Miller, Jake Duzsik, John Flamiglietti, Jupiter Keyes *

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

– Ethan Kath * Instruments and programming – Ethan Kath * Mixing – Ethan Kath, Lazar Nesic * Mastering – Nils

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crimewave (Song) Crystal Castles (band) songs 2007 debut singles 2008 singles Wikipedia requested audio of songs 2007 songs PIAS Recordings singles Songs written by Ethan Kath