Alice Glass

Alice Glass (born Margaret Osborn, born 23 August 1988) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is the co-founder and former frontwoman of the electronic band Crystal Castles.[2] In 2014, she embarked on a solo career.[3] She released her eponymous debut EP in 2017.

Alice Glass
Glass performing in Los Angeles, 2017
Background information
Birth nameMargaret Osborn
Also known asVicki Vale
Born (1988-08-23) 23 August 1988
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active2002–present
LabelsLoma Vista
Associated acts
  • C3l3stia
Websitealice-glass.com

Life and career

1988–2014: Early life and Crystal Castles

Alice Glass was born Margaret Osborn on 23 August 1988 in Toronto, Ontario.[4] She was raised Catholic, attending parochial school up until junior high.[5] At age 15, she ran away from home to live in a squat community of punks under the name Vicki Vale (after the comic book character) and started an all-girl experimental punk band called Fetus Fatale.[6] In December 2003, the pair began working together on the project that would become Crystal Castles.[7] She picked the stage name Alice Glass based on a pin with the name Alice that she shoplifted and Hopey Glass, a character in Love and Rockets.[8]

Crystal Castles' first official release was their 2006 single "Alice Practice".[9] The song got the band their first record deal with Merok Records in London.[7] The same year, Crystal Castles played their first live show at Clinton's Tavern in Toronto.[10] "Alice Practice" was eventually featured on their eponymous debut album released in 2008. Glass topped NME's Cool List that year and responded to it by criticizing the idea of the cool list itself.[11] The duo followed their debut album with two more critically acclaimed albums: II (2010) and III (2012), completing a trilogy. Glass co-wrote every Crystal Castles song she contributed vocals to.[12] In October 2014, Glass announced her departure from Crystal Castles due to her own professional and personal reasons. In the announcement, she noted that working within the band compromised her efforts towards "sincerity, honesty, and empathy for others".[13] She later had a number of public disagreements with her former bandmate.[14]

2015–present: Alice Glass and lawsuit

In July 2015, Glass released her debut single as a solo artist, "Stillbirth".[15] The release was largely an effort to increase awareness of domestic and sexual abuse. Glass worked with anti-sexual assault organization RAINN to donate all proceeds from the song's revenue to aid abuse victims.[16]

In August 2017, Glass released "Without Love", which served as the lead single to her eponymous debut EP which was released the following week. She headed on tour with Marilyn Manson following the release of the EP.[17]

In October 2017, Glass posted a statement on her official website explaining her departure from Crystal Castles, accusing co-founder Ethan Kath of sexual, physical, and mental abuse. The accusations detail the abuse starting when Glass was 15 and began recording with Kath and escalated until her eventual departure from Crystal Castles. Kath responded the same day in a statement issued to Pitchfork through his attorney, where he called the accusations "pure fiction" and said he was consulting with his lawyers as to his legal options.[18] The following month, Kath sued Glass for defamation, but was dismissed in February 2018.[19] In May, Glass was awarded nearly US$21,000 in attorney fees after Kath's lawyers sought to vacate the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against Glass.[20]

In January 2018, Glass released "Forgiveness" as the second single from her EP. She also released that month a brand new single called "Cease and Desist", which she said "is a call to arms for all survivors." Both singles were accompanied by music videos.[21]

In April 2018, Glass embarked on her SnowBlood Tour alongside American singer Zola Jesus, with electronic musician Pictureplane being an opening act on select dates. The tour is named after Lady Snowblood, spurned star of the eponymous 1973 Japanese film. Later that month, Glass released a remix EP, consisting of remixes of songs from her eponymous EP released in 2017. The EP includes remixes from both Zola Jesus and Pictureplane.[22]

In June 2018, Glass released a new single, "Mine", accompanied by a music video directed by Lucas David and starring American drag queen Violet Chachki.[23] In December, Glass was featured on Adult Swim's singles series with a new song titled "I Trusted You".[24]

Alice Glass live at Rock am Ring 2019
Glass performing in 2008

Live performances

Glass is known for her dedication to performing. In March 2008, she broke two ribs from an altercation with her tour manager, when she hit a monitor at a 90-degree angle, and continued to tour, performing a 20-minute set within days of the accident despite instruction from doctors to take six weeks off to heal.[25] In January 2011, Glass performed five months' worth of shows on crutches after falling and putting a strain on an unhealed ankle injury.[26] At the 2013 Glastonbury Festival, Crystal Castles began their set 20 minutes past the scheduled time, with Glass visibly sick and beginning "Plague" sitting with her head in her hands. According to NME, Glass had been suffering from food poisoning, but chose to perform anyway.[27] Crystal Castles was infamously shut down at Glastonbury 2008 after Glass climbed a speaker stand just before "Alice Practice" and was swallowed by the crowd during "Yes No".[28]

Discography
See also: Crystal Castles discography

Extended plays
Title Extended play details
Alice Glass

Remix EPs
Title Extended play details
Alice Glass (Remixes)
  • Released: 27 April 2018
  • Label: Loma Vista Recordings
  • Formats: LP, digital download

Singles
Title Year Album
"Stillbirth" 2015 Non-album single
"Without Love" 2017 Alice Glass
"Forgiveness" 2018
"Cease and Desist" Non-album single
"Mine"
"I Trusted You"
"Suffer and Swallow" 2021 TBA

Guest appearances
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Youth Problem"[29] 2018 Dreamcrusher Grudge2
"Dark Alley"[30] Lil Zubin, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal Heavy Down Pour
"Eat Me Alive Interlude"[31] 2019 Nedarb Amity
"Sleep It Off" 2020 N/A The Turning (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
"Nightmares" Sermon 4 Anniversary
"Rajadão" (Remix) Pabllo Vittar 111 (Deluxe)

Music videos
Title Year Director(s)
"Without Love" 2017 Floria Sigismondi[32]
"Forgiveness" 2018 Lindsey Nico Mann[33]
"Cease and Desist" Lindsey Nico Mann, Dan Streit[34]
"Mine" Lucas David[35]
"I Trusted You" Lindsey Nico Mann
"Sleep It Off" 2020
"Nightmares" Lucas David
"Suffer and Swallow" 2021

References
  1. Mckenzie, Lesley (2 August 2016). "alice glass on feminism, fashion and music industry creeps". i-D. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  2. Mcnett, Jared (8 October 2014). "Five songs to listen to now that Crystal Castles appear to be done". Vox.
  3. Brandes, Bertie (17 February 2015). "Crystal Castles' Leading Lady Alice Glass is Embracing Her Own Darkness". Vice.
  5. Dombal, Ryan (8 November 2012). "Interviews: Crystal Castles". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  6. Gillen, Kieron. "Crystal Castles Interview". Plan B. Archived from the original on 3 January 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  7. "The Roots Of... Crystal Castles". NME. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  8. Mckenzie, Lesley (18 July 2016). "Alice Glass - Eighty-Nine". Agolde. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  9. SoftandFading (9 April 2015), Crystal Castles interview MTV Backstage Pass (Full) c. 2008, retrieved 17 April 2017
  10. "When and where was Crystal Castles first live performance?". crystalcastles.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  11. "Crystal Castles' Alice Glass reacts to topping 2008 Cool List". NME. 4 November 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  12. Dominic Amphetamine (19 November 2016), Crystal Castles Interview Headlining NME Tour Alice Glass Ethan Kath, retrieved 17 April 2017
  13. "Crystal Castles announce their split on Twitter". Dazed. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  14. "Alice Glass Responds To Ethan Kath's "Manipulative" Statements About Crystal Castles". Stereogum. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  15. "STILLBIRTH - Single by Alice Glass on Apple Music". iTunes. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  16. "Alice Glass releases first solo single, opens up about "abusive relationship"". Fact. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  17. Maine, Samantha (10 August 2017). "Alice Glass shares video for 'Without Love', announces tour with Marilyn Manson". NME. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  18. Strauss, Matthew (24 October 2017). "Alice Glass Accuses Crystal Castles Co-Founder Ethan Kath of Rape and Assault; Kath Responds". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  20. Hodan, Marc (17 May 2018). "Alice Glass Awarded Nearly $21,000 in Attorney Fees After Ethan Kath Lawsuit Dismissed". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  21. Strauss, Matthew (23 January 2018). "Alice Glass' New Song Is a "Call to Arms for Survivors"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  22. "Alice Glass to release new remix EP on Friday (April 27), kicks off tour this week". Tiny Mix Tapes. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  23. "Hear Alice Glass' Brittle, Soaring New Song "Mine"". Revolver. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  24. "Listen to Alice Glass' brooding new single 'I Trusted You'". NME. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  25. " alice-glass-on-leaving-crystal-castles-the-cruelty-never-ceases-to-amaze-me
  26. "Crystal Castles' Alice Glass Hospitalized With Broken Ankle". Chart Attack. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  27. NME.COM. "Glastonbury 2013: Friday news round-up". NME.COM.
  28. Rose, Greg. "Security Cut Crystal Castles Glastonbury Set Short". Gigwise.
  29. "Grudge2 - EP by Dreamcrusher on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  30. "Heavy Down Pour - EP by Lil Zubin on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  31. "Amity by Nedarb on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  32. "Alice Glass - Without Love (Official Video)". YouTube. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  33. "Alice Glass - Forgiveness (Official Video)". YouTube. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  34. "Alice Glass - Cease and Desist (Official Video)". YouTube. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  35. "Alice Glass - Mine (Music Video)". YouTube. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
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