Back in February, Collateral returned to the frontline. And they did so with “Glass Sky”. A single that took them into somewhere slightly new.
The song was modern rock. Still eligible for Planet Rock Radio rather than Kerrang! But still modern.
It was, I said: “the sound of a band that wants to smash the glass ceiling and really make a breakthrough.”
Now the album is here – and in many ways, I feel like I am watching the film after reading the book. You see, I’ve seen them twice since then. Once opening for the mighty FM, and once with their name on the top of the bill.
At the latter they played a lot of “Should’ve Known Better” but on both occasions, they played “….Sky” first, and here, as part of the collection, it feels even more of a statement of intent. Angelo Tristan – I learned he’s “braw” from a female Scottish friend. I believe this is a good thing?) sounds like he’s primed and ready for a breakthrough.
It’s one he – and the rest of his merry men – deserve.
What’s clever about this is that it sounds like Collateral, just updated. “Original Criminal” might have the sort of riff that could come off Bon Jovi’s second record but it sounds like it’s been released in 2024.
That’s the skill of Producer Dan Weller (the producer of choice to modern rock bands) I guess, whatever “One Of Those Days” explores their country side. Think “Midnight Queen” if you’re familiar with their other stuff.
“Teenage Dreams” is this bold(ish) new world writ large. There’s a heavier tinge to this. If they are the youth gone wild, then cool, but they’re doing it aggressively.
Right in the middle of this is the best of the bunch (and they haven’t put it in the set, yet.” “Elysium” has the type of chorus that mere mortals can’t do. It’s exactly why people champion them in the way they do. It is 80s-tinged, yes but so what?
They have been playing “The Long Road” and it has been prefaced by a moving speech about Tristan’s partner’s mother dying. You suspect that for all that Collateral is about them fulfilling rock n roll fantasies, then this one means every word.
Something that can often get overlooked is just how exceptionally good Collateral are at crafting songs. FM themselves would be proud of “No Place For Love” and the bold, strident energy of “Game Changer” fair old bursts with optimism. So does the rest of the album.
They are savvy enough to have deliberately bookended the record with its two most obviously “new” moments. “Final Stand” is the sort of thing Those Damn Crows (also produced by Weller) do so well, and it waves this record off into the night.
Collateral MK II (as they are calling it) isn’t so much a change they’ll leave people behind. It was never meant to be. Instead, it’s a band updating, revamping, and sounding better than ever.
The more things change, the more they don’t stay the same. Or, meet the new boss, not quite the same as the old boss. And I “Should’ve Known Better” than those dreadful play on words. Still, Collateral are doing serious damage here.
Rating 8.5/10
