Greatest Songs of 2011: #45: Battles - "Ice Cream"

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Somebody get this guy some ice cream! This man is clearly mentally ill and in such desperate need for ice cream that he keeps repeating it to everyone in English and Spanish. “Give me melting ice cream!” go his screams. Somebody should help him! Oh god look, he’s assembling a band. He’s got a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist and a keyboardist. This can’t be good. Somebody quickly find some ice cream before they start-- Oh god they’ve already started playing. This song is going everywhere guys. It’s a savage cry for help don’t you hear? Somebody stop this! WHERE’S THE ICE CREAM GODDAMMIT?! These people are performing the music of the insane for ice cream and you can’t oblige? Monsters, monsters all of you! These innocents will die for your negligence! Die I say! Oh thank goodness finally someone’s brought some ice cream.

…You know, on second thought, let’s just keep the ice cream away and let them play for about four and a half more minutes. Jeff, turn on the tape recorder.  I have a great idea.

Greatest Songs of 2011: #45: Battles - "Ice Cream"

Battles - Gloss Drop: B+

"Ice Cream (feat. Matias Aguayo)"

Want to hear one of greatest bass performances of year? Listen to Gloss Drop. Want to hear one of the greatest drum performances of the year? Listen to Gloss Drop. Want to listen to some hilariously skonky keyboard performances? Listen to Gloss Drop. And if you want to get some mind-blowing visual accompaniment to a fantastic single, I would suggest you click on that link above and sit back as your eyeballs get thoroughly reamed.

But if you want to hear an album that’s distinct from track to track, I would still recommend Gloss Drop, but would not promise that you would be reeling once the album comes to a close. While Battles maintain their high level of instrumental proficiency throughout their newest record, hearing them play off of each other for nearly an hour can get a little tiring when there are few shifts in texture or style. Most of Gloss Drop is instrumental, but this principal is also applicable when vocals are present. Matias Aguayo (of “Rollerskate” fame) puts in a fun performance for “Ice Cream”, the album’s clear highlight, but Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead and Yamantaka Eye of Boredoms don’t really add much to their respective songs and those tracks and others begin to slump and blend towards the album’s end.

But I’m being negative. Gloss Drop is still great for its musicianship and at the very least is perfect background music for a particularly rousing game of Twister. The album’s not as outlandish as the group’s watershed moment, Mirrored, and Battles may have diluted their math rock leanings to an extent, but it’s still great fun to hear these guys mull over melodies, even if it should be in smaller doses. Gloss Drop’s definitely worth your time. You might even learn something.

Battles - Gloss Drop: B+