Customer Reviews

We Collide

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, just for the record, I consider Mesh to be the most talented purveyors of dark synthpop on the planet at the moment. So, it probably wouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone that I like this album. A lot. Is it as good as "Who Watches Over Me," or possibly even better? I'm not prepared to answer that one just yet, so I'll just take the easy way out and recommend buying both. Both albums are at least 2/3 brilliant, with a few lesser moments toward the center. Going track by track:

1. Open Up the Ground -- This is the first of the album's three big dancefloor tracks, and it's a perfect opener.
2. What Are You Scared Of? -- One of my favorites. It's got a dangerous groove, nice use of piano in the verse and guitar in the chorus, and one of the album's better lyrical hooks ("Only you can press that button").
3. Step By Step -- The second dance track. I'm given to believe that it will be the second single, and if it gets enough of a push, it could be a monster. Fingers crossed.
4. No Place Like Home -- The first of three downtempo songs, and easily the most stunning. It's reminiscent of "Leave You Nothing" from WWOM both musically and lyrically. Addressed to a son or daughter with an abusive (and murderous?) stepfather, it manages to be simultaneously heartbreaking, haunting, and hopeful. Very Depechey, with some strong piano work.
5. Petrified -- My feeling about this one is that, as the longest song on the album, it needed a few more chord changes.
6. Rest in Pieces -- And now we have the shortest song (apart from the hidden one at the end, which I won't otherwise spoil). It's not bad, though there are a few uncharacteristic clunkers in the lyrics, of which the bad-goth-poem title pun is only the most noticeable.
7. This Is What You Wanted -- The most guitar-driven song on the album. It reminds me a bit of "Razorwire" from WWOM, but it's considerably better.
8. Room With a View -- From what I've been reading in the fora on Mesh's official site, people seem to either like this one a lot or not much at all. I must admit that I fall into the latter camp. It's just too consistently minor-key and dirgelike for my taste.
9. My Hands Are Tied -- From the most minor-key song to the most major-key song. While the beat and the unexpected "wah-wah" guitar cause the verse to veer strangely close to midtempo disco territory, all is forgiven once the chorus kicks in. I can't get the darn thing out of my head.
10. Crash -- This is the lead single, and a fine choice it was. It's very catchy and very danceable. If you like it, I recommend the "Alien Six Kerosene Remix" on the single, which I like even more. (The single also features a great B-side in "Soul," which I think they should have swapped with "Rest in Pieces.")
11. Can You Mend Hearts? -- Mesh tend to have a way with big emotional midtempo closers. (See "The Trouble We're In" from WWOM and "Not Prepared" from "The Point at Which it Falls Apart," of which this one is strongly reminiscent in one particular passage.) This is a fine addition to the canon.

All in all, it's a terrific album. If you can, consider getting the limited edition with the DVD. (I posted this same review at the page for that product, but with an additional paragraph that discusses the DVD.)

Mesh has been one of my top two favorite bands over the last ten years(the other being De/Vision), and with 'We Collide', they certianly have outdone themselves.

For a band who has created such hauntingly beautiful electronic music for over a decade, they amazingly continue to ascend. 'We Collide'... well, I just can't find any flaws.

It is also very difficult for me to choose may favorite tracks, because they all effect me in different ways at different times.

"Crash" is one of their best dancefloor songs ever, while striking a serious emotional chord at the same time. Seriously, how many club-friendly songs have the ability to do that?

"Petrified" is simply incredible. The programming is crisp and trance-inducing, while the lyrics possess depth rarely heard in this genre.

I won't describe all the tracks in this sort of detail, but I will say this: this band deserves much more than it gets in terms of popularity, especially here in the U.S.

True artists have the ability to create a thing of beauty, while at the same time provoke, and spur their observers to deep reflection.

Mesh are true artists in every sense of the word, especially with a masterpiece like 'We Collide'. I couldn't recommend it enough.

This new album was well worth the wait! Mesh is one of my favorite bands and they never fail to wow me. I love this CD. The music is catchy enough that you love it right away, though it only gets better with each listen. In fact, I like this better than their last effort. It has a little more energy and grit. The songs are punchy and diverse, heartfelt and thought-provoking. My favorites are "Open Up the Ground", "What Are You Scared Of?", "Step by Step", "No Place Like Home", "My Hands Are Tied" and "Crash". If you love Mesh, synthpop, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails or just plain good music, get this album!

Well, just for the record, I consider Mesh to be the most talented purveyors of dark synthpop on the planet at the moment. So, it probably wouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone that I like this album. A lot. Is it as good as "Who Watches Over Me," or possibly even better? I'm not prepared to answer that one just yet, so I'll just take the easy way out and recommend buying both. Both albums are at least 2/3 brilliant, with a few lesser moments toward the center. Going track by track:

1. Open Up the Ground -- This is the first of the album's three big dancefloor tracks, and it's a perfect opener.
2. What Are You Scared Of? -- One of my favorites. It's got a dangerous groove, nice use of piano in the verse and guitar in the chorus, and one of the album's better lyrical hooks ("Only you can press that button").
3. Step By Step -- The second dance track. I'm given to believe that it will be the second single, and if it gets enough of a push, it could be a monster. Fingers crossed.
4. No Place Like Home -- The first of three downtempo songs, and easily the most stunning. It's reminiscent of "Leave You Nothing" from WWOM both musically and lyrically. Addressed to a son or daughter with an abusive (and murderous?) stepfather, it manages to be simultaneously heartbreaking, haunting, and hopeful. Very Depechey, with some strong piano work.
5. Petrified -- My feeling about this one is that, as the longest song on the album, it needed a few more chord changes.
6. Rest in Pieces -- And now we have the shortest song (apart from the hidden one at the end, which I won't otherwise spoil). It's not bad, though there are a few uncharacteristic clunkers in the lyrics, of which the bad-goth-poem title pun is only the most noticeable.
7. This Is What You Wanted -- The most guitar-driven song on the album. It reminds me a bit of "Razorwire" from WWOM, but it's considerably better.
8. Room With a View -- From what I've been reading in the fora on Mesh's official site, people seem to either like this one a lot or not much at all. I must admit that I fall into the latter camp. It's just too consistently minor-key and dirgelike for my taste.
9. My Hands Are Tied -- From the most minor-key song to the most major-key song. While the beat and the unexpected "wah-wah" guitar cause the verse to veer strangely close to midtempo disco territory, all is forgiven once the chorus kicks in. I can't get the darn thing out of my head.
10. Crash -- This is the lead single, and a fine choice it was. It's very catchy and very danceable. If you like it, I recommend the "Alien Six Kerosene Remix" on the single, which I like even more. (The single also features a great B-side in "Soul," which I think they should have swapped with "Rest in Pieces.")
11. Can You Mend Hearts? -- Mesh tend to have a way with big emotional midtempo closers. (See "The Trouble We're In" from WWOM and "Not Prepared" from "The Point at Which it Falls Apart," of which this one is strongly reminiscent in one particular passage.) This is a fine addition to the canon.

All in all, it's a terrific album. The DVD on the limited edition adds a making-of featurette whose highlights include some nifty instrumental versions in the background. The music videos are low-budget but enjoyable. The live footage is a treat for those of us who are stuck on the wrong continent when it comes to catching an actual Mesh concert -- even if singer Mark can't seem to find the melody in the verse of "From This Height" for the life of him. Finally, while the demos are nowhere near as good as the final products, it's interesting to hear how the songs evolved. U.S. purchasers should be aware that the DVD is region-coded and in PAL format, so you'll need the right hardware and/or software to access it.

Mesh has been something of an oddity in the EBM arena because they have never sacrificed the thing they do best, quality vocals and testaments to the art of feeling, for anything happening in the moment. They skipped the voxing craze when it swept the dancefloors, stayed with their own sound when BPMs swept up everyone, and this really shines in the things they create now. This seems to be the one testament that shows how influenced Mesh was by Depeche Mode - when you listen to album after album you can hear the sound maturing and yet sticking to a something that resembles what Depeche Mode did when they were hitting on all cylinders. There is also a formula of sorts to what they try to accomplish, with a variety of song types coming out BUT the best work revolving around love/the loss therein.

One of the more confusing things about this album was the fact that it was released as an import but that it wasn't picked up by Metropolis. That explains the price on it, too, and might make some people leery when it comes to buying. Metropolis has been attempting a facelift of sorts, however, and people worrying about what they are getting shouldn't be bothered by this change because it didn't hurt the quality of the album or the work produced. If you listen to the style echoed in the beauty of Track 2 (No Place like Home), you can tell that this is the Mesh you've grown to love and that the album will not disappoint. More importantly, this is the same Mesh with a little more maturity added into the fray, and that echoes in the diversity of an album that you really don't tire of easily.

If this is your first time trying out Mesh, the best overall album to try via pricing has to be Who Watches Over Me. You'll enjoy the album and the introduction of this one as well so you'll have two quality albums to listen to, and having an introductory album of that quality isn't a bad decision at all. You can actually look up the video for the single Crash on this album if you are so inclined as well, although video formats aren't always indicative of the audio experience. If you're already a fan of Mesh and have yet to pick up We Collide, check out Step by Step, the single Crash, or No Place like Home and push your fears aside.
I highly recommend this album highly to anyone who enjoys great vocals, a nice beat, and feelings that really seem genuine when tasted via playback.

From the opening track "Open Up the Ground", Mesh's new album is seriously a joy to listen to! This album really captures the industrial genre's best in one album!

The songs are all quite different from one another, and show the different aspects of what industrial music sounds like. For example, of the harder stuff, you can listen to "Crash". For more atmospheric, listen to "Room With a View", and for just that feel good, happy sounding, industrial sound, we have "This is What You Wanted".

I have been listening to Mesh for a very long time, and I am VERY pleased with the direction they have taken their music. This is what Depeche Mode COULD have sounded like, but they took a different sound direction, which is unfortunate, because I think they would have done a lot better, sounding like Mesh. But, in the same sense, I'm happy Mesh is doing it this way. I'm sure they can garner a larger audience with this new sound!

The difference from this album and the rest of Mesh, is that they have expanded the sound, made it a lot deeper, and layered with a lot of different sounds on top of one another, giving us a deeper, more expansive listening experience. I feel like I really am immersed in the music!

So if you are looking for some light out of the monotony of normal industrial music, look no further than Mesh, and you will find that difference! Pick it up today!

To start, I must admit that I came to the Mesh Appreciation Party(tm) a little late. Only last year, I bought "The Point at which it falls apart". That was a very good album, but for me, "We Collide" is a better album, a great album. Possibly even my favorite album of the year. This is one of those CDs I can put in the player and just listen to the entire thing.

We Collide has a much more energetic and danceable style than The Point - it still has a darkness to it but it fits in better with my tastes. For me, I tend to like synthpop music that is faster, with a catchy and danceable beat and good lyrics (and to not be totally depressing). To give you an idea, 2 other "best albums of the year" for me are Echo Image's Compuphonic (wow!) (slightly faster than this album) and Cause & Effect's Trip (slightly slower than this album).

"Crash" is easily the best single of the year 2006 so far (and easily the best single on the album). After hearing 30 seconds of it on their web site, I couldn't wait for it to come to the States and had to buy it from iTunes.

Hear is how I rate the songs (5 stars=best, 3 stars=good, 2 stars=listenable):
1. Open Up The Ground ****
2. What Are You Scared Of? ****
3. Step By Step ***+
4. No Place Like Home ***
5. Petrified ***+ (Reasonably priced mix for single is 5 stars)
6. Rest In Pieces ***
7. This Is What You Wanted **+
8. Room With A View ***
9. My Hands Are Tied ****+
10. Crash *****
11. Can You Mend Hearts? **

To put it simply, they've boosted the BPM and created a masterpiece. From the first note to the last, this album rocks. I love Who Watches Over Me, but I always wished there were a couple more high-BPM dancy songs on that album like first single "Friends Like These." Well, now we have an album full of them! Sure, there are a few ballads, but even these will have your head bobbing a little. There are absolutely no duds here. Every track could be made into a worthy single in my opinion (which is an amazing feat for ANY artist). They even stepped far outside the box musically for "My Hands Are Tied" and "Can You Mend Hearts," but succeeded in a big way on both accounts.

The only major complaint I have is that "Rest In Pieces" is way too short at 2:47. It feels a bit incomplete, which is a huge shame because it probably would have been my favorite track on the album (at least musically - maybe not lyrically).

Also, I must admit that I hate the cover art. It doesn't have that Mesh feel to it. Plus, it's just boring and ugly. An ugly cover can totally turn me off to an album, but fortunately the music on We Collide is so darn good that I can overlook this flaw.

Since last Summer we electropop fans have been blessed by some of the best albums to ever grace the genre: Iris' "Wrath," Depeche Mode's "Playing the Angel," De/Vision's "Subkutan," and now Mesh's "We Collide." If you like darker-edged synthpop, this album is an absolute must have.

This new album was well worth the wait! Mesh is one of my favorite bands and they never fail to wow me. I love this CD. The music is catchy enough that you love it right away, though it only gets better with each listen. In fact, I like this better than their last effort. It has a little more energy and grit. The songs are punchy and diverse, heartfelt and thought-provoking. The limited edition comes with a bonus DVD that has a "Making of Collide" feature that's over 26 minutes long, fun music videos of three great songs: "Crash", "Leave You Nothing" and "Friends Like These", live performances of "From This Height", "What Does it Cost You" and "Let Them Crush Us", plus audio bonus tracks of previously unreleased demoversions. On top of all that, it comes with a cool booklet with lyrics and cool photography. Definately worth the extra cost. If you love Mesh, synthpop, Depeche Mode or just plain good music, get this album!

This is awsome new album from the england based trio. once again they deliver the gods , with updated beats and rythems. the lyrics are once again full of passion,power and emotions.
This sound was upgraded with guitars (much more than before) ,
and it takes a while to adapt , but after a couple of listenings , you fall in love. There are some really good tracks in here , i'll name a few > "Open up the ground","Crash","What are you scared of","Step by step" , and my personal favourite from this album is track no.4 - "no place like home" . the rest of the tracks are pretty good also, although it takes a while adapting to their new sound.
all in all , highly recommended !