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.-Peter Marks--brutalresonance (dot com)American duo Collide remind me a little of Massive Attack, but the midnight version. I've got a promo copy of their latest and seventh studio album, Counting to Zero (Noiseplus), on high rotation, and their electro cruise is so smooth find a place under the lasers in the fog and let your slo-mo bat-catching go wild. Suggested track: Lucky 13 , suitably slinky beats with singer kaRIN hitting some sultry notes down low.It doesn't pay to get too complacent, though. They like a little mid-song pause, a little change of tempo, just to keep you on your toes. See In the Frequency for a fine example: fuzz guitars making highlights, and a gradual fade to grey, setting up the heavier bass attack of Clearer .kaRIN and programming partner Statik perpetuate their distinctive sound her fetching pipes remain the lead instrument as the layers of music builds and fades in step while pushing their studio savvy out all the speakers. There are shards of Vangelis, Goldfrapp, John Foxx, Portishead ... some Middle Eastern notes, too. The album is both perfect mood music for a chill-out as well as a funky stereo-sound experience.The tone is set from the opener, the slow-building Bending and Floating , a doorway into a rich electronic landscape the name of which kind of says it all, really. Across the 11 tracks, the vocals do float above the electronic current, and there s some bending going on, too: keyboard and strings on the exemplary title track with gorgeous guitar courtesy of Scott Landes, a quietly catchy lead track in Mind Games , a fractured electro snatch and grab in Tears Like Rain .  Human is a slow burn, kaRIN exercising some range to bring added emotion who s going to fix you when you re broken? to an outfit who can come across as sonically icy rather than fiery.Further from Anything , with Secret Meeting collaborator Dean Garcia (of delicious, departed Curve) on bass, changes gears nicely for a last-half jolt before the slide to the end, concluding with the poppy (and suitably named) closer, Letting Go .With more than half the songs clocking in at more than five minutes, the album takes almost a full hour to unwind, and it can lull. kaRIN s default vocal setting is a lullaby croon and it will take you away to a good place.-Jason Nahrung--Jasonnahrung (dot com)