An ambient and boundless alt pop and rock opus of an album was recently released from the band Collide and it breeds an absolutely refreshing set of textures that blend and chop into each other giving everything a darkened disquietude but also this vitality that helps the songs build a fierce but flowing character.
The Notes from The Universe album is completely immense, and these songs have the feel of connecting together almost like a concept album would.
You get such a great combination of natural and digital instrumentation that create an atmosphere that has a way of wrapping itself around you and keeping you right where it wants you.
You have some real gems throughout the records playthrough that possess this pop sensibility which is also there a lot on this release.
But even still if you look at this like it is a concept album, you're better off.
The vocals across the record have this graceful tonality to them and it really helps the whole approach for the soundscape and style that they've built.
There are plenty of surprises lurking around the corners and levels of intensity that rise and fall so the songs have a way of feeling alive and breathing.
What's most impressive about this really is the arrangement and songwriting and how the performance of the songs is the glue that keeps everything together and forward moving.
These are incredibly pictorial as well a lot of the time, which is quite beautiful in its own right, but they never lose that touch of grit and sharpness.
"Typically, I love to listen to a song for the very first time and just let whatever flows out. Then it will take a while to take shape and to finally get somewhere that I like where it is going. I wish it was easy—it is easy to sing to anything—but to get something that I love is hard. I get bored very easily and can write 10 or more different songs until I am even ready to share something with Statik." says songwriter and vocalist kaRIN about gaining inspiration to write new material.
Notable songs include "Freak Like Me", Haunting Me Still, and "Are You Better Now" among others of course.