That brings us to Collider. The album, which possibly takes its title from the Large Hadron Collider scientists are using to test theories about “God particles” and dark matter in space, features hooks so massive that Neil Degrasse-Tyson probably has a quote or two to say about them.
As with any good Cartel album, the album kicks off by first giving the audience a muffled sound effect before kicking into the opening track “Second Chances” in full stereo glory. The sound effect is becoming a fitting and expected feature of Cartel’s releases (the only release that didn’t use the effect at least partially is the self-titled “Band-in-a-bubble” album disaster). The opening track really encapsulates what this release offers from the very beginning. Light, atmospheric guitar riffs give way to massive, thundering, sing-along choruses.
Unfortunately, that phenomenal opening track is followed up by “Take Me With You,” easily the album’s lowlight and the only real misstep to be found. Vocalist Will Pugh never gives his vocals room to breathe and the song suffers. The chorus falls flat, and Pugh’s lyrics are probably the weakest of the album. Drummer Kevin Sanders tries to salvage the song with a stellar performance, but it’s just never enough to let the song take off.
Luckily, the band bounces right back with the infectious “First Things First” with a great, bouncy bass line provided by newly minted bassist Nic Hudson (he was previously the band’s rhythm guitarist until former bassist Jeff Lett’s departure). Pugh’s vocals too respond to the song’s relentless energy, as he holds two stunningly powerful notes in the song’s bridge, which help the bridge maintain an airy, floating feel to it, before the band punches back into the chorus to close the song out.
The middle part of the album is where the band’s chops as pop-rock song writers really stands out.” The first song released from the album, the peppy “Uninspired,” gives guitarist Joseph Pepper a chance to shine as his signature muted guitar riff melds perfectly with the intricate use of a synthesizer that Motion City Soundtrack would be proud of. Meanwhile, the following track “Sympathy” features a striking chanted outro with the band singing “Now you’re seeing all your bridges burn, we’re all waiting for it to be your turn. With your fingers and your wires crossed, counting down the names of the lives you’ve cost” The way the gang vocals are used provides a haunting and ethereal feel to the end of the track.
The album closes with “A Thousand Suns,” a song that attempts to match the massive scope of its title. The song features Pugh allowing his voice to soar over all, while Pepper places a beautiful rhythmic lead guitar line underneath. The album comes to a close with Pugh repeating the bridge of “Uninspired” in perfectly timed refrain. “Put all emotion aside, no matter how hard you tried. Take what is buried inside. You want it, you got it, Goodbye,” he says, as the music fades away.
The best songs on Collider wouldn’t be out of place on Cartel’s previous magnum opus Chroma, but the structure and ordering of these songs fits so well together that to take any of these songs off this album and place it on Chroma would hurt the flow. As it stands, Collider is one of the most cohesive releases I’ve ever heard, and works so well in succession that I can’t help but feel like the band spent weeks just working the sequencing alone. This is an album that deserves to be listened to from front to back, and it ranks highly among the best releases of the already-decorated pop-rock band’s career.
Bottom Line: While Yellowcard’s Southern Air was a perfectly respectable release, Cartel’s Collider is the pop-rock gold that Southern Air should have, and in all honesty could, have been. Collider is a stellar (more space puns!) display of how to write a meaningful, energetic record that simultaneously remains completely honest and true-to-form. We have finally seen 2013’s first true contender for Album of the Year released.
8.5/10
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