I'm not a fan of Battles

There. I said it. Revolt if you want, but it won't matter. I've already mounted my flat with enough booby traps it'll make your head spin. If you slip through the minefield the cannibal leprechauns will get you in the end.

Seriously, don't do it.

I mean, i see why people find them quite special, but in my head it just doesn't work. I can't explain it. It's complex, wanky, juxtaposing many styles and genres. In theory they should be my favourite band, like, EVER, but....they aren't. Tonto was impressive, and Tij sends shivers down my spine, but overall i find no fluidity throught 'Mirrored'. It felt like a band trying so hard to create something so complex they forgot to actually give it any heart. Maybe i'm just getting old.



...wait, that's not it. Maybe you're all just stupid.
Yeah, that's more likely.

Anyway, they've released 'Tonto' as an EP with a couple of remixes from old friends Four Tet and The Field. Both are very impressive, no surprise considering the line-up, yet personally i find The Field wins via sheer abrasion. The heavy house of the Four Tet mix is alluring, and Keiran Hebden output, structurally, is not a million miles away from Battles themselves, but Axel Willner's cut is so utterly and unapologetically hypnotic it takes you all over the shop, creating something majestic out of essentially nothing. In fact, i think the reason i like it so much might be due to the fact that he's completly ignored (purpously?) the complexity of the original. Ch-ch-check it.

Battles - Tonto (Four Tet Remix)
Battles - Tonto (The Field Remix)

Edit: Right, links sorted. They are what they say they are!