Battles announced plans last week to release a new album later this year titled Gloss Drop. This happens as Battles move from being a four-piece band that included TyondaiBraxton to the a three-piece after Braxton's departure from the band last Summer. As a result, the remaining three members decided to rework the songs from Gloss Drop as a three piece band and move forward. The result is a new phase of Battles, meaning a new sound built on top of the old one.
So the big question right now is ... what will the band be like without him? The looming sophomore jinx combined with the loss of a hyper-talented multi-instrumentalist is a pretty heavy impact. Braxton is an experimental solo artist that layers sounds by manipulating electronic devices. He did a piece with the Wordless Music Orchestra in 2009 titled Central Market.
"When Ty left over the summer, we were close to having an album's worth of material -- we had put so much energy into the project and then we had to re-establish ourselves as a three-piece. The end result is a culmination of reworked things we'd been putting together the past couple years and some newer songs," said Dave Konopka in a recent interview with Pitchfork.
"It's unfortunate that Ty leaving the band is part of the narrative because it's really more about Ian, John, and I rising to the occasion and creating an album that we're all very happy with."
Battles will release the album Gloss Drop on June 6/7 via Warp Records. It features appearances from none other than Gary Numan, KazuMakino (Blonde Redhead), Yamantaka Eye (Boredoms) and Matias Aguayo.
Battles: Gloss Drop Track List
01 Africastle
02 Ice Cream (w/ Matias Aguayo)
03 Futura
04 Inchworm
05 Wall Street
06 My Machines (w/ Gary Numan)
07 Dominican Fade
08 Sweetie & Shag (w/ KazuMakino of Blonde Redhead)
09 Toddler
10 Rolls Bayce
11 White Electric
12 Sundome (w/ Yamantaka Eye of Boredoms)
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