Just as fans were beginning to wonder if the duo
Curve
would ever return from their self-imposed exile, they returned with their best album to date,
Come Clean
. Still combining largely
electronic
music with alternative hooks and lines, members
Toni Halliday
and
Dean Garcia
returned to a now-popular form of music they helped create years ago. Although the album's two best tracks had previously appeared on their late-1997 EP
Chinese Burn
(the title tracks from both the EP and the full-length), there are plenty of other strong tracks in attendance.
"Something Familiar"
may be the band's most melodically accessible track yet, while the extremely overdriven distortion and abrasive tones of
"Dogbone"
are just the opposite. Unlike many
bands, the duo makes it clear that they don't just go for musical overkill, as evidenced by the slow
groove contained in
"Killer Baby,"
and the mid-paced
dance
-
rock
of
"Cotton Candy."
is the welcome return of a band that deserved attention when it first appeared years ago, and may get it in the electro-friendly late '90s. ~ Greg Prato