In Love With Oblivion

iTunes Review

On album number two, Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts take their fixation on Joy Division-rooted gloominess further afield in search of new hybrids. The glorious opener, “Sycamore Tree,” is what might have happened had Joy Division gone a little more rockabilly: a reverberating guitar twang rides atop hissing snares before it morphs into barbed “Disorder” tones. It’s fair to say the band is moving — slowly — into the light, and while a Velvets-meets-Joy-Division heart clearly beats at their core, the Stilts seem interested in a slightly less menacing tone. Singer Brad Hargett’s brooding voice (sounding more than ever like Jim Morrison) is a tad brighter on many tracks, surrounded by snappier percussive tones and expanded breathing room beneath the inevitable blanket of reverb they favor. “Flying Into the Sun” is a patchouli-flavored romp through some twinkling ‘60s psych-pop, and “Through the Floor” hints at Phil Spector’s page in the book of pop history. However, they make clear with the closing track, “Prometheus at Large,” that darkness will prevail, those shards of guitars swirling into a dangerous and yet enticing vortex that’s hard to resist.