OTR: Calla - Collisions

[illusionofjoy]

Of all of Calla's albums, I think that Collisions is my favourite. It is certainly the one I've listened to the most. I actually had a chance to get an advance promo copy of this disc; I had found one in the used bin at a local record store. I don't know why I didn't grab it save for that I probably didn't have any money. In any case, my copy is the proper retail version.

Collisions, in my opinion is one of those albums that opens perfectly. "It Dawned On Me," aside from being a great title for a first track bursts the album wide open and drags the listener in immediately. The slightly mellower "Initiate" continues the journey. We arrive then at "This Better Go As Planned" with it's hushed swagger which nods to Calla's earlier work.

One of the more fun tracks on this set (if anything Calla plays can be considered "fun") is the aptly titled "Swagger." Calla at their most upbeat, the drums take the forefront in almost a march of a rhythm as a simple yet elegant guitar hook frames the beats. "Overshadowed" closes the album in a magnificent manner. It is also a good closer for a concert - I'm glad they chose it when I saw them live the second time around.

I realise that these entries are getting shorter. The fact of the matter is that I am just enjoying listening to these songs again and I find myself less interested in offering up any sort of critical analysis since I've pretty much told all of the stories that I have connected with this group and their albums. I could post a bunch of reviews, but that would be painfully boring and I've come to the point where I think other people do critical analysis of music better than I do, so I'll leave them to it. The modus operandi of the "Off The Rack" series was always about the stories more so than star ratings or what have you. Anyone who has seen High Fidelity should understand.

I've one more Calla album to listen to before moving on to another set of musicians. I've never looked into it, but it seems that more bands are named after words beginning in C than any other letter.