Collide
Chasing the Ghost
NoisePlus Music
It is always sad when good ideas and musicianship, detailed arrangements, and especially lush female vocals get used for evil. This evil, also known as goth, plagues our nation, and as I see it, stands in the way of a truly civilized society. Collide liked all the wrong aspects of Cocteau Twins and Portishead, opting for the more generic spookiness from the Godfather of Goth, Trent Reznor. And no matter how cool you think you are, you know that some of the sounds on those NIN CDs you left at your parents’ house are amazing. Every song on Chasing the Ghost is a melodramatic juxtaposition of samples, guitars, and generally atmospheric noise. All of the instrumental aspects alone are sensational, dreamy, haunting, and droning. But as songs, each track is an unhealthy dose of music noir. The poetic lyrics remind me of all those shitty poems featured in high school literary ‘zines. A sparser vocal approach, much lower in the mix, and a stronger emphasis on noisy atmospheric stuff will put these songs where they belong: during the credits of movies like Seven, Doom Generation, and Dracula 2000.
