Battles’ imaginative brand of quirky post-rock has been one of the brightest features on the underground landscape over the past few years, with the band’s gonzo instrumentals taking on weird and wonderful shapes. Last year’s Gloss Drop album was another excellent release, and now the band have turned the record over to an array of leftfield groove technicians for the remix treatment.
The album commences in exceptionally strong fashion with an awesome one-two of reworkings from Brazilian rhythm maestro Gui Boratto and Swedish production wizard The Field. The former transforms ‘Wall Street’ into a brilliantly hypnotic, house-style tune with an atmospheric, noirish feel, while the latter takes ‘Sweetie And Shag’ in an ambient house direction, and creates a magnificent, brooding track that weaves its black magic over nine glorious minutes.
After such a superb opening, it’s perhaps inevitable that the album would suffer a bit of a dip, and The Alchemist’s eerie, haunted-fairground overhaul of ‘Futura’ and Shabazz Palaces’ hip hop take on ‘White Electric’, though good, aren’t quite at the same level. Nonetheless, there are a couple of other notable tracks on Dross Glop. Kode 9’s take on ‘Africastle’ is bookended by nightmarish urban soundscapes, and in between embarks on a psyched-out dubstep odyssey, while Kangding Ray, from the excellent Raster Noton label, delivers an extremely menacing, dark ambient version of ‘Toddler’, which rivals The Field’s effort as the standout tune.
Far more than a mere curio, with Dross Glop Battles have provided us with another genuine gem.