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| Who doesn't love bubble gum? |
Album: Gloss Drop
Band: Battles
Genre: Experimental Math-Rock
9.2/10
Whenever I look for new music, one of my biggest factors is innovation, and even with just 2 albums and an EP, Battles has grounded themselves as one of the most innovative bands of the 2000s. Battles’ first full-length album Mirrored was a commercial and critical success, planting Battles as powerhouses of experimental music, but tragedy followed this success when multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Tyondai Braxton left the group. This left Battles fans in a weird place, not knowing what to expect from this 2nd LP. Would this be a radical change? Would the band focus more on instrumental tracks? Would there be tracks with vocals? And probably the biggest question: Will it be any good? Battles responded to these challenges with a complex, intricate, dark, heavy, sexy, and fun album with one of the funkiest covers (what the hell is that thing, bubble gum?).
Gloss Drop is slightly synth-driven record that incorporates extreme musicality with inspired creativity. The synth lines and tone are prime examples of this. There is a distinct synth sound, a high, treble-y tone layered with a light fuzz that contrasts with distorted bass. The tracks “Rolls Bayce” and “Inchworm” highlights this contrast. The bass is heavy and driving while the synthesizer lays down one of many great contrasting and theatrical melodies evident in each track. The guitar work is just as impressive as well, with many tracks relying on a solid rhythmic riff to build improvisations and more polyrythms.
I would like to dedicate this next paragraph to one of my all-time favorite drummers, John Stainer, formerly of the alternative-metal outfit, Helmet. His drum work is absolutely phenomenal on this record. He drives each song, adding a booming intensity that makes the listener bob their head. Each fill is constructed and executed with precision and poise. He is extremely dynamic, interpreting the changing moods during a song and adjusting his style accordingly. He is most famous for placing his one cymbal, a crash, extremely high, having to extend his arms all the way in order to hit it. The reason for this is to force him to rely more on his high hat, forcing him to be more creative. Unlike drummers who fill their sets with countless toms and cymbals and percussion options, John Stainer keeps his set-up simple, and lets his drumming do the complicated shit.
Let’s get into the specific tracks, what makes them so great? Look at the opener “Africastle”. It is the perfect opener. There is a quiet pulsating bass tone with shimmering reverb guitar and an off-beat synth mantra that enters into a epic theatrical jam, with guitars and synths dueling and living up to their name, Battles. The track “Wall Street” is more abrasive and discordant. It’s high energy and drives forward until the very end, where feedback and synth tones blend and comsume each other leading up to the best track of the album: “My Machines” featuring Gary Numan of ‘Cars’ fame. My Machines is the strongest track due to its hard-hitting groove, Gary’s evil vocals, the heavy bass line, and the all-over-the-place-yet-hitting-all-the-right-spots synth line. The last 2 minutes are the highlight of the entire album, a loud high-octane groove riddled with intense drum fills noted by a distinct pattern (BLAM BOOM BABOOM TRIP-A-LET CRASH) that makes my jaw drop.
And how could I forget the first single and the most accessible track, “Ice Cream” featuring Portuguese singer Matias Aguayo. This a pure sex/party song. The first minute alone contains building instrumentation and sensual grunts and “ooohs” from Matias. The song itself has latin influences due to Matias and the synth line and is the most melodic track. I could dance to it quite easily and I could even see a DJ incorporating it into his or her set.
Overall, this is an extremely strong sophomore LP. It took the experimentation of Mirrored and layered it with accessibility and brighter tones. The only weak points of this record are “Toddler”, which seems to be just a long intro into “Rolls Bayce” and choosing to end the record with “Sundome”. While I enjoyed “Sundome” the more discordant vocal work of Yamantaka Eye seemed to not be a strong way to end such a high energy album.
This is just the step Battles needed to take, and they did everything right in the composition, performance, and production of these tracks. The mix is perfect. Each theme of the album shines in different places.
Battles has nowhere to go but up with an album like this. I’m giving it 9.2 battles won out of 10.
FAVE TRACKS: Africastle, Rolls Bayce, My Machines, Ice Cream, Wall Street, Sweetie and Shag, Futura, Domincan Fade
