Loving: Come Clean, Curve

Come Clean
Curve
Come Clean isn’t a new release, but beloved music need not be new, does it? Curve was the collaborative effort of British musicians Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia. Note the past tense in the last sentence; Curve “officially” disbanded in early 2005, though they have been known to have broken up in the past only to return again.
Come Clean is the only Curve album I’ve heard, and I gave it a shot due to its comparisons to Garbage, one of my favorite bands. It is true that Toni Halliday’s decidedly British accent bears a sometimes striking resemblance to Shirley Manson’s decidedly Scottish accent, and both singers have a very similar vocal style and tone. But while Garbage’s sound leans more toward trip-hop, Curve’s Come Clean crunches and booms with big beats and electronica more akin to The Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, and Crystal Method with a splash of Republica. In fact, if the aforementioned bands remixed Garbage’s debut album, you’d no doubt end up with songs much like the slithering slow-burner “Dirty High,” tweaked-out sugar anthem “Cotton Candy” and the frenetic assault of “Chinese Torture.”
Want to hear something amazing? Head on over to One Louder (look in right sidebar) to hear a great live version of “Horror Head” from The Peel Sessions. It’ll make your ears happy.
Buy Come Clean at iTunes or Amazon.