Collisions - Calla
Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Among contemporaries, Calla now stand alone, making dark, beautiful, intensely understated music that's as much landscape as narrative story.
  2. Laid-back and controlled, yet at times almost obsessively moody... [Collisions] hits all the peaks and troughs at just the right frequency. [4 Feb 2006, p.29]
  3. 80
    Calla aren't only as unique as NYC new wave gets... but beautifully tense too. [Feb 2006, p.103]
  4. 80
    The trio has acquired the confidence to cherry-pick tropes from dark-rock's heritage and mould them into thier own glum grooves. [Mar 2006, p.100]
  5. On Collisions, the band wipes the sleep out of its eyes and produces a set of songs that is more inspired and vital, even if it's equally embittered and dejected.
  6. Collisions marks Calla as an enchanting secret. [Mar 2006, p.106]
  7. The album sounds mature, weathered, tired and occasionally almost weary, but is far to dynamic to ever seem truly lethargic.
  8. It is the closest you'll get to The Bends in 2005.
  9. To call it derivative would be to overlook the band's ability to craft thoughtful, engaging rock. [#10, p.105]
  10. Technically sound, simply arranged, atmospheric and occasionally psychedelic, Calla don't just write musical warning shots bearing messages of violent frustration... they are also capable of immense beauty.
  11. The breakthrough record where Calla go from a whisper to a scream.
  12. They still get a thumbs up in the sonic department, and their songwriting is certainly to my liking; but that quality of elusiveness that made their prior albums a journey of discovery seems to be missing.
  13. With Calla's song structures and melodies more concrete, though, Valle's desolate imagery has begun to lose a bit of its mystery, and consequently, some of its appeal.
  14. In its best moments, Collisions has an edge that's grittier and more emphatic than its predecessor.
  15. On Collisions, Calla don't flee from their influences; instead, they turn inward on themselves, pushing out at their songs' edges.
  16. It sounds as if the band's batteries are steadily running out. Confidence ebbs, emotions run flat, the songs become more and more inconsequential.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. LiamF
    9
    'Collisions' is the perfect follow-up to 'Televise'. Continuing in the dark, epic vein, the album is in equal parts consuming and uplifting, with the anthemic characteristics and experimental yet catchy style of ' the bends' and 'ok computer' radiohead, and some songs songs are reminiscent of a low-tempo Cave In. Although they remain a band in control of their own style and direction, they are very fluid which allows them to be accessible, with Aurelio Valle's voice a unique and refreshing feature. Calla are so much more than the sum of their influences. Surely material like this will ensure their fanbase grows and they will gain the popularity they deserve. Full Review »
  2. AndreaK
    10
    Fantastic album! My favorite Calla CD to date.
  3. PeteM
    9
    Very nice! That about sums it up.