When Crystal Fighters came to the forefront three years ago with debut Star Of Love, they provided something unique and exciting.
They did so by re-appropriating traditional Basque instruments and weaving them into a spectacular 11-track album filled with genre-bending sounds of dubstep, dance, tropical acoustics, rap-style vocals, infectious beats and a large spectrum of rhythmic arrangements.
Sophomore Cave Rave, turns away from what elevated Crystal Fighters in the beginning. Gone are the subtleties and the clever bringing together of idiosyncratic sounds.
Instead, the record relies on a recurring formula: the acoustic beginning with Sebastian Pringle’s rap-style vocals; fuller, more ‘epic’ sounds, then a dance beat that drives the song to its conclusion.
The album is overly explicit in songwriting, relying heavily on spiritual clichés such as the universe, body and soul, the sun, the the notion of ‘one true love’.
Coupled with formulaic composition, the tracks feel insincere and unimaginative such as on “You & I” with roundabout filler lyrics “You and me/no-one else/no-one else but us right now.” To compound this, the use of water sounds are jarring and breed inauthenticity rather than providing an understated thread through the album.
Unlike on their debut, for this latest Crystal Fighters’ intentions to uplift and spiritualise become irritating, never having the power to connect at a deeper level beyond jangling guitars and catchy beats.
While there is nothing groundbreaking in Cave Rave, it will provide reasonable party tunes for some. There is even an anthemic turn for “Bridge Of Bones,” which only needs Robbie Williams’ presence to complete the vibe. “Everywhere” is also to be credited as a very apt final comedown track.
Star Of Love was a hard act to follow, though it is still a shame to see Cave Rave miss its mark. Perhaps there will be consolation to be found in remixes that will inevitably start spinning. Failing that, Crystal Fighters’ live presence (which will allegedly include a real-life Rave Cave in the Basque countryside in August) will no doubt set this group back on track as an alternative dance favourite.
