In case you didn’t get the memo Collide put out a new album about a month ago called Two Headed Monster. If you haven’t heard, or heard of, Collide then I have to wonder where the hell you’ve been for the past sixteen years. They’re a group which incorporates Industrial Rock, Darkwave/Ethereal soundscapes and elements of Techno, Trip Hop and even middle-eastern influences into their music.

Throughout the Nineties I was more a fan of Curve, a band whose approach was similar to that of Collide but far better in execution and much more densely layered. And thanks in large part to production by Flood on their most significant albums Curve always sounded so much better. Even the best Collide albums always seemed lacking in certain aspects if not downright flat. Well, their latest release is truly a monster. Having collaborated with Dean Garcia from Curve on their Secret Meeting side project, Statik and kaRIN have come away with a reinvigorated sound. Garcia plays bass on a couple tracks here and the drums on four songs are deftly handled by Tool percussionist Danny Carey. The result is the best album Curve never recorded.

I don’t mean to slight the band but this album represents the best aspects of Curve’s most popular works. And at times kaRIN even sounds like Toni Halliday, though her own style and sensuality come through equally as well. From the guitar heavy opener, “Tongue Tied & Twisted,” we get densely layered electronics, exhausting dynamics and breathy emotion packaged up in an incredibly well-produced effort that begs for an intimate headphone experience. The dancefloor-ready “Chaotic” holds plenty of sonic surprises throughout its frenetic five minutes. “A Little Too Much” has a sexy swagger supplanted by digitally-rendered wah-guitar. kaRIN the chanteuse takes over for “Silently Creeping,” a number that sounds like a cross between Nineties art-noise group Medicine and a David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti collaboration.

Among the disappointments are “Head Spin,” which possesses the most in the way of Pop accessibility but drags on for an overly repetitive six and a half minutes rather unnecessarily. That’s followed up by the rather innocuous title track which is mercifully brief. But the album ends with “Utopia,” an expansive and utterly gorgeous number that will make you just want to start the CD over again. Two Headed Monster is a marvel of an album you simply must own. The group is self-releasing their work, having grown weary of being mishandled and mismanaged by labels in the past. They have their own imprint called Noiseplus Music and that’s where you can pick up this must-own collection.

Collide website
Collide MySpace