Big Collapse "Prototype" CD
[The Militia Group]
I fucking love this CD. This shit's been out for over a month but I just found out about it, and I bought it immediately after seeing an ad because this band features Josh Loucka (from Shift) and Gavin Van Vlack (from Burn, Absolution, etc.), and I've always been a huge fan of their past bands. Sure enough, this fucking rules. It sounds pretty similar to Shift, due in no small part to Loucka's unique vocals, but it's more straightforward and rock based in a sense, carrying less of a post-hardcore sort of vibe (though technically there's still a smattering of that in here as well). But god damnit... the songs are so fucking catchy that I can't get over it. "Love Empire", "Pull Out the Guts", and "Prototype" are all fucking instant classics in my book, and that's all in the first 13 minutes of the disc! I don't even know how to classify or describe this without using Shift as a reference point, because this is really original... it's not emo or indie rock, it's not post-hardcore per se, and it's not really flat out rock... I don't know. The songs are melodic and there's a lot of guitar layering and subtle intricacies along with a pounding rhythm section, but it's not heavy or anything like that. It's really energetic, at times it can be sort of laidback... but it's not sappy or anything. They just write fucking slick songs. The recording is killer. Everything is pristine as far as clarity, which sounds amazing in headphones because you really notice a ton of little textures and layers that actually make the songs turn out to be way more subtly complicated than you'd expect from a surface listen. Plus the mix is even and everything is bright and warm. I love it. No complaints. The layout's alright. I like the cleanliness of it all, and they use blank white space well. The text is all clean, the outer booklet is all high contrast black and white while the inside has some vibrantly colored photos, etc. It gets the job done. I like the lyrics because they approach common topics from abstract angles, and some of the lines can be pretty whacked out, but it works out nicely. "Blown-out synapses hum like AM/FM transistor radio. I've got no excuse, I'm trouble man. If an electron can escape an atom anything can happen look out." or "Last night I built the prototype for a telescope with x-ray eyes. I can see inside the universe, and it's lonely up there. My idea came to fruition; made up a new religion. You'll be God and I'll be Jesus, grow my hair out so they'll believe us..." Shit, just check this out if you like good songs that are catchy and get stuck in your head like you wouldn't believe. If you liked Shift and you don't buy this right this moment then I would just like to personally inform you that you are a complete fucking moron, okay? I can't stop listening to this. I've listened to this bad boy at least 50 times in the few days that I've owned it, and I doubt it will leave my rotation anytime soon. Rock. (9/10)
Running time - 32:03, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Love Empire, Pull Out the Guts, Prototype, We All End Up Dead]
Big Collapse - http://www.bigcollapse.com

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