The Kiss That Took A Trip is hitting its 20th anniversary and to mark the occasion they’ve released ‘Thirty In Twenty: The Collection’ which is a rather comprehensive double album covering the breadth of their alternative output without really going down any one particular path. It’s 30 tracks in total and brings together a wide range of musical identities from post-rock and ambient through to alternative rock, electronica, some very experimental bits and a fair bit of more accessible pop. It’s not really a collection that is going to have you thinking “oh that’s the Kiss That Took A Trip sound” as such, it’s a collection that embraces its diversity and allows all of the different moods and approaches to exist side by side.
Of the new tracks “We Are What We Protect” is a piano driven ballad with an adult pop character, “Forevermore” is a bright dance track. “Mimosa” is a bit of a surprise in that it’s an upbeat, almost tropical sounding track which is then contrasted by a very dark and unsatisfying mid-tempo chorus. They’re clearly going in new directions with these tracks rather than just reworking the old ones. The reworked versions of “Vanilla Killer” and “Three Girls” are also interesting in that they’re very different in structure and have vocals added.
Elsewhere the 25 previously released tracks give a real sense of the album’s breadth of style. “Flower of Gas and Smoke”, “Champions of Delay” and “Fangs” are the more instrumental, post-rock end of the spectrum. “Blue is the Flame” and “The Truth About Lucifer” are the darker electronic ballads. “Crapola” and “Delirious Romance” are the acoustic tracks which bring a very different character to the record, as opposed to the industrial electronica of “Sound and Immaculate” and “Everything Is Disappointing”. There’s also a good deal of shoegazer pop, some jazz rock and a number of pop-rock anthems.
“Thirty In Twenty: The Collection” works as much more than a simple retrospective of the band’s back catalogue. It’s a collection of remasters, remixes, reworkings and some material that’s never been heard before and as such provides a very broad range of styles. There’s a lot of variety in direction, yet it all still manages to retain a very distinct alternative feel and the various styles can co-exist. For the first time listener it’s a very substantial introduction to the band’s many facets.
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