Battles - Gloss Drop

Source: The List (Issue 681)
Date: 20 May 2011
Written by: Nicola Meighan

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Techno-rock propulsions and afro-cuban wig-outs featuring Gary Numan and Boredoms’ Yamantaka Eye

(Warp)

Battles feel so well-established in the innovative rock canon – so visionary, brawny and enduring – that it’s easy to forget they’ve only released one album, 2007’s thrilling Mirrored.

Granted, their very formation bore the legacy of a super-group (featuring members of Helmet, Don Caballero and Lynx) – and a string of stellar EPs preceded their debut long-player – but their second album, Gloss Drop, nonetheless feels overdue.

Toned-up and pared-back to a three-piece following the 2010 departure of Tyondai Braxton, Battles’ techno-rock propulsions and afro-cuban wig-outs head off any sense of creative absence with cameos from the likes of Gary Numan and Boredoms’ Yamantaka Eye.