sister crystals

  I miss Sister Crystals, they were...or are this sweet Chicago dream pop, shoegaze band that I once saw with the Pandas...at the Pandas. I guess I use the past tense because I have not seen them as of late. This band hit the spot, right away. They were first called Magic City, and soon after they renamed themselves Sister Crystals. Its ever so fortunate of me to have a few downloads of them and vinyl. So I'm not completely depending on Youtube videos. Well, there are a few songs that I've only seen on Youtube. There was a span of let's say three years in which all these dream pop, shoegaze bands, local bands were circulating actively and often appearing together along with the middle outside act. Pale Dian played quite a few times here under their old name Black Stone Rangers, played with the Crystals,Videotape, and the Pandas. Just to be safe let me throw in Lightfoils. So, Crystals I have seen in the context of a wider network. And indeed it influences how you see a band in front of you. There is a wider constellation to include them in....or not. With me, it was the wider network that brought them to my attention. There is always a forward drive to their swirling guitars. Their songs have these long moments when its just the guitars playing. They are often like the long exclamation point to the last word that Lauren sings. Hard To Imagine is just like this. Lauren's voice has space to sound alone, and then the swirling storm of guitars takes over.  And the swirl of guitars have this way of answering back and continuing on from Lauren, and building and building from that echo until. You Won't Let Go does this and builds on and on like a stoner Warpaint jam session. So this is one of those bands that I would see a lot before I ever had anything tangible to play. Now I do, and here and there I see some of their Youtube videos or just listening to the downloaded LP and EP. I do miss them.
Zig