Curve: Come Clean

Curve was one of the first guitar bands to dabble in dance music, peppering its albums with driving loops and blasts of electronic noise while enlisting then-rising stars like Aphex Twin and Trent Reznor to remix tracks. After two amazing records and three untouchable EPs, however, Curve's Dean Garcia and Toni Halliday went their separate ways, though they termed it a "hiatus." Five years is a long time to wait between albums, long enough to stifle support for all but the biggest, most popular bands, and during Curve's absence, the combination of electronics and rock has become commonplace. Legions of like-minded studio geeks like Garbage have adopted Curve's wall-of-guitars melodic overload and drum loops, but few acts sound as naturally inclined toward the dance floor as this one. Though guitars remain prominent on the new Come Clean, it's the big beats—the ones that threaten to blow out even the most capable speakers—that mark the progression from musical past to present. Curve has become more monolithic than ever, its hip-hop influences far more prominent; "Cotton Candy" and "Beyond Reach" are of a piece with the group's past work, but the music is funkier and scarier, if that's possible. With production courtesy of Flood and Bomb The Bass' Tim Simenon, Curve buzzes and blasts like a cross between Underworld and an upset hornets' nest, with Halliday's oblique lyrics sounding more vicious than ever. And the music, especially on tracks like "Dirty High" and the album's first track, "Chinese Burn," sounds far more mean and menacing. If Curve's old sound is missed, the new direction still provides a welcome opportunity to set the record straight and put the band back on top.