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Music

Alice Glass Dropped the Most Powerful Track of Her Career

It came accompanied by a statement detailing her survival of an abusive relationship.
Emma Garland
London, GB

Last October, Alice Glass announced on Facebook that she was leaving Crystal Castles. What followed was a shade war started by former bandmate Ethan Kath, who is currently still making music as Crystal Castles without her. He released a new song called "Frail" in April along with a statement referring to Glass as "[his] former vocalist" and claiming she "didn't appear on Crystal Castles' best known songs".

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Glass responded with a series of Tweets, saying that she "wrote almost all of the lyrics in [her] former band and the vast majority of the vocal melodies" and "shaped the sound and aesthetic from the very beginning". Now, a few months on, she has dropped her first solo single accompanied by her own statement detailing survival of an abusive relationship. It is not made clear who with.

"I want young women and young men to understand that this kind of treatment of others can happen where it might be least expected," she writes. "Those that have known me throughout my career might be surprised that someone who publicly gave the impression of being fearless and seemed as though they didn’t take shit from anyone could find themselves being severely mistreated and manipulated by someone they were close to. This person nearly stripped me of myself. And for years I felt as though they were waiting for my life to end."

pic.twitter.com/qohqWSvkej

— ALICE GLASS (@ALICEGLASS) July 17, 2015

You can read the full statement on her website or via Twitter (above). The song itself, titled "Stillbirth", is the most powerful track of her musical career to date. Written by Glass and Jupiter Keyes of HEALTH in their basement, it's a thunderous and beautiful assault on the senses that brings the best of the two songwriters together. With a clear refrain of "I want to start again" cutting straight through a sonic electrical storm, Glass is very much alive - and her voice has never sounded better.

Listen to "Stillbirth" below. All proceeds from digtal purchases will benefit organizations that help survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence, and incest. You can donate directly at donate.rainn.org or via Alice Glass' website.

Follow Emma on Twitter.