Collide - Counting to Zero

Collide are a well known entity in their scene, there is no dispute there but where they have wound up on this album will be the subject of a lot of other reviews out there. This one included. As time has gone by, Collide have morphed into one of the strangest pairs working in what could be called rock and roll; only by the slimmest of margins. Their records have contained songs which would strip the conceptions off even the most primed of ears, and in this, they have done what few can say out there: they have outlasted the class of 96 which they came from who jumped at the chance to fill the void left by Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia (who, incidentally, plays bass on some of 'Counting to Zero'). If you're my age, you'll easily remember all the new acts eager to take up the reigns but ask yourself this... where are they now? Are they doing their eighth album and even if so, who cares? Really, who does. Collide are still with us, Karin and Statik continue to explore the edges of their sound with a set of steel nerves. Nothing fazes them, go on and read an interview, these two don't make any pretenses; it is about the music first and foremost. All other trappings fall to the wayside.

Be prepared to drop the tempo and soak in a luxurious mixture of atmospheres, guitars, loops, and that voice. Oh that voice. This release has the same tactile sense of smoke languidly curling up into the still air from a 30s movie starlet lounging about at some off the strip bar waiting for a moment's peace from the chaos of public life. You sit and watch it rise and as it merges with the surroundings, there is a sense of beautiful symmetry which cuts through the haze: you have been here before but it is never the same and it never will be. This is not to say that 'Counting to Zero' lacks in power, far from it, Collide have decided to let their arrangements loosen a bit and go for capturing a live sound instead of the usual precise level of tension they're better known for. Rough and ready is how it sounds to me, and even though it does, I have no doubt they agonized over each minute letter and detail of this new work far far into the night.

Many times on here, the backdrop of Statik's arrangements are drawn back to the barest hints of a song in order to let Karin's vocals shine through and shine they do. Like a mercurial stream of glimmering diamonds caught by the prospecter's eye amidst all the dust and dirt, she speaks and sings in ways I had not expected. I'm hesitant to call any of these additions to their catalog torch songs but some of them are so deliciously sad and contain so much longing that I cannot help myself. I just wonder if they'll ever take over a piano bar and reduce what they've done even more, I really was not prepared for how diverse and daring their newest wound up being. There have been hints, there have been overtures but now there can be little doubt that even if you take away all their toys they'll still make it slinky and seductive with whatever they find. I believe that would be called talent, my friends. Some artists heal with what they do, Collide wound this time out by virtue of how nakedly unashamed these songs are. It will hurt for a short while but as they are so fond of saying, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

What has happened in their world, is it just artistic license going on here or has everything been turned upside down. We'll never know, and it isn't our business anyway so let us just partake of the sumptuous repast they've put before us. No seriously, shut your mouth and listen. Oct 11 2011