Xerxes' sophomore full-length is backed by guitarist Will Allard, bassist Joseph Goode and drummer Ben Sears (who also plays alongside Allard in Whips/Chains). With a new line-up and some years removed from their young, violent, hardcore days, the instrumental prowess on "Collision Blonde" sounds less like their elder contemporaries and more a cleaner tone reminiscent of Jesus And Mary Chain and The Cure, yet sharp and uneasy in the vein of Bauhaus' early, gothic post-punk edge. Tracks like "Knife" and the closing "Nosedive" are aggressively built up into a cathartic release, alluding to Ceremony, Iceage and Mewithoutyou at times.