The electro-goth
collaboration between programmer Ian Reyes (pictured
above,
right) and vocalist Scott Francis (pictured above,
left) consistently delivers electronic
dance music steeped in pop sensibility. The duo’s engaging multi-media
live show is
out-done only by the vibrance of their songs on record. Since their
inception, CN2R have
independently produced three full length albums, appeared on three
internationally distributed
compilations, and shared a stage with acts including My
Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Pigface
The Crüxshadows,
Croc Shop,
Bella
Morte, Chris
Connelly, Meg
Lee Chin, Ego
Likeness
Combichrist,
Anders Manga,
Genitorturers,
Orgy,
Type
O Negative, and Ministry.
Beginning in 1999
as an industrial-rock outfit, Collapse into Reason
have since honed a sound that
is simultaneously morose and upbeat. Forming in the midst of what
was then a flourishing heavy metal
scene in New England, CN2R gained recognition by
virtue of their danceable beats and irresistible
melodies. With the independent release of the first full-length album,
the band found themselves
playing more often in regional goth/industrial clubs than in local
rock venues. The follow-up album,
Letters Never Sent, was both a farewell to the band’s
rock roots as well as a means of settling
in to their new positions as favorites of the area’s dark dance
scene.
Today you can
hear the fruit of these years in transition. With all the benefits
of lessons learned in the
studio and on the stage, Reyes
and Francis now offer up their most well-focused
and appealing
material
to date, Electromantic. Whether on record
or in performance, CN2R present a studied alternative
to
the comparatively staid strands of electronic music pervading today’s
gothic and industrial culture.
