Battles is something of an anomaly in the world of popular music. Their first full-length album, 2007’s Mirrored, was an uncompromising experimental rock record that rocketed the band to international critical acclaim and attention for being so different from the norm.
Now, four years later — an eternity in the modern music climate — Battles is releasing its sophomore effort Gloss Drop, albeit without former frontman and vocalist Tyondai Braxton. The songs on Gloss Drop are yet another venture into the unknown, although the long gestation between records has created a perhaps unfair fan expectation of quality.
After the release of Mirrored, expectations were high for the album’s sequel. Since 2007, the band did a considerable amount of touring before losing Braxton to his solo career, shrinking the group from a quartet to a trio, which features former members of instrumental math rock band Don Caballero and alternative metal group Helmet.
The trio is a group of fantastic musicians, and it has no problem writing exciting, multi-layered and complex compositions. But a quick sampling of the album may create some trepidation — some of the tracks on Gloss Drop feel too much like an attempt at recapturing the specific sound of past Battles work.
Because of Mirrored‘s renown and the group’s lack of musical output since, the record has become the defining statement of the Battles sound. For a band reliant on oddities and surprise to form the basis of its tracks, the wait has wound up typecasting the band as just the wild outfit behind Mirrored singles such as “Atlas” and “Tonto.”
Unlike Mirrored, where the music was so out-of-left-field that it felt futuristic and alien, Gloss Drop finds the band stuck between a new direction and straining to recreate the sound of the first record, sans Braxton’s pitch-shifted voice.
The album wavers back and forth between the two options, but in the end, Gloss Drop comes out as the superior album.
The part of the record that echoes Mirrored is a toss-up in quality from song to song as the band focuses on purely instrumental pieces. Some, such as “Inchworm” and “Futura,” go absolutely nowhere and, even though they meet or exceed five minutes in length, often come across as little more than the background noise to a very disturbing elevator ride.
Despite the likable groove, these tracks focus too much on the method and textures of the old Battles (after all, the Battles of Glass Drop is essentially a new band) instead of on the songwriting, leading to a few forgettable dirges of plunky synthesizers, dull bass and off-kilter drums.
Other instrumentals are complete successes, however, such as the aggressive build-up on penultimate track “White Electric.” This song finds the trio creating something new and not failing to cop the more recognizable aspects of previous work.
The same can be said for opener “Africastle” and electronic-counterpoint burner “Wall Street,” both of which work off strong songwriting instead of expectations, an idea that seems more inspired by Mirrored than any of Gloss Drop‘s actual music.
The absence of Braxton is perhaps Gloss Drop‘s greatest asset, as it leads to some of the album’s best tracks. Four vocalists have guest spots on the album, each one bringing their own distinct approach to the music.
These songs find Battles playing to the guest’s style more than their own, which branches the band out further than anything else on the record.
From Blonde Redhead singer Kazu Makino’s turn on the catchy future-pop of “Sweetie & Shag” to Boredoms’ Yamantaka Eye on the epic closer “Sundome,” the replacement players for Braxton offer some of the best moments on Gloss Drop.
First single “Ice Cream,” featuring Matias Aguayo, is a snappy number that gives listeners a solid view of what the current Animal Collective would sound like were they more aggressive.
Unsurprisingly, Gloss Drop is one of the more interesting albums released this year.
Most importantly, the album is a grower, so it deserves repeat spins. While not every track is perfection, more songs on Gloss Drop are worth digging into than a lot of what was on Mirrored.
This time, instead of randomly striking gold, Battles is mining copper — it may not be quite as exciting at first glance, but in the end it’s far more constructive.
RATING: 3.5 stars our of 5
berman@umdbk.com
