Albums

Left Side Brain - Collider

Craig Broad 10/03/2009

Rating: 2/5

Left Side Brain are a four-piece band from Britain who have been steadily building a following since their first release in 2004. Collider is their third album to date and being at such a place within a career is telling not only through the tightness of each instrument on show within the music but also through how cohesive the album is, making Collider feel and sound like an album rather than a collection of songs hastily glued together.

On Collider, Left Side Brain continue with their rock roots that have already won them great reviews from important alternative publications such as Kerrang! and Rock Sound, rarely slowing throughout the eleven tracks here, showing great strengths and also great weaknesses.

Every song contains a structure that seems perfect: while not necessarily going away from your general pop structure, Left Side Brain have found a way to re-invent such a structure and make it feel interesting and unpredictable once again and sound their best when they drop from a full band to a solo instrument and back again within a matter of effortless seconds, a technique they use often throughout the record. Despite this strength, the album is littered with lyrics
that don't feel like they work and vocal efforts that very rarely seem to sit correctly with the music. It is a great shame because when everything works, as in the song Gifted, you end up with a sound that very much competes, if not betters, any album American bands like Mudvayne have released recently.

While it is obvious that on Collider, Left Side Brain knew exactly what style and feel they wished to portray, they have once again fallen short of the mark and will seemingly be underachieving until they finally write that underground masterpiece that everyone who has heard them, knows they are capable.