On last November’s Radiant Door EP, New York noise-pop act Crystal Stilts continued to brighten the corners of their sound, and the opening cut on the release, “Dark Eyes”, is a definite album highlight. Over buoyant guitar strums and wandering synth lines, a peppy round of hand claps keep the track’s jaunty rhythm steady. It’s all wrapped in Crystal Stilts’ 6os psychedelia influences, an aspect given full attention in the track’s new video.
Recorded during a hometown gig at the Knitting Factory back on December 9th, 2011, the clip has the group awash in psych rock imagery. Dual projectors cast flashes of continually shifting colors over the band members, and the retro air is amplified even further by director Jacqueline Castel’s blending of HD, Super 8MM, and hand colored 16MM film leader footage. Get lost in the vibes by watching below.
To see something the real-life version of “Dark Eyes”, you can check out Crystal Stilts on their upcoming summer tour. The West Coast dates include some time with Sacred Bones Records label-mate Wymond Miles as well as The Mantles, plus one Brooklyn date opening for Peter Murphy. See their itinerary below.
Crystal Stilts 2012 Tour Dates:
07/20 – Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
07/21 – Vancouver, BC @ Electric Owl
07/22 – Portland, OR @ MIssissippi Studios
07/24 – Sacramento, CA @ Luigi’s Fungarden
07/25 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall ^*
07/28 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah ^
07/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Part Time Punks at The Echo
08/26 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Well #
^ = w/ The Mantels
* = w/ Wymond Miles
# = w/ Peter Murphy & Small Black
