Listen to a New Battles Song Now

Finally! It’s been over three years since NY’s prog-math-rock juggernaut Battles released its debut album, and really haven’t heard a fresh thing from the band since. We heard a while back that the quartet would be contributing a song to the soundtrack for the third movie in the teeny bopper-friendly Twilight series, Eclipse, and now we can finally listen to the song. Praise be!

After scrolling through songs by UNKLE, Beck and Bat For Lashes, Band of Horses, The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend, and other respectable tunes from the ‘indie’ elite, you’ll find “The Line” by Battles. The track starts out sounding quite similar to “Tonto” from Mirrored, but—what’s this?!—you can understand what Tyondai Braxton is singing and its not in a squealing impish pitch. We could go into more detail about how awesome “The Line” is, what with its accelerating tempo, epic turns of melody, and almost pop-friendly nature, but we’ll just let you make your own assessment of it here. And listen quick, because this is coming down tomorrow.

LusineTwilight EPGhostly International (2010)
Genre: ElectronicRating: B
Receiving Jeff McIlwain’s new EP as Lusine—released on the always reliable Ghostly International label—was a bit lackluster since the tracklist is made up of only one original, a reworked bit from the producer’s A Certain Distance album, and a couple remixes of the title track tacked on for good measure. It was a bit off-putting, and I ended up focusing on the Lusine’s original material—straying from the remixes for the time being. Eventually, I warmed up to the EP’s other tracks, and was pleasantly surprised.
Jeff Samuel’s near nine-minute remix of “Twilight” moved my various appendages with ease throughout its whole runtime, and proves to be a standout addition to McIlwain’s own single. “Twilight” in its original form moves Lusine’s production from a more straightforward minimal house and techno sound into a defiantly more spacey pop direction. The lush female vocals which almost swallow the song bring Ellen Allien to mind. It’s nice to know that a former Cal Art’s electronic music major can take himself a bit less seriously, and go in a more simple and human direction. The single’s b-side, “Crowded Room (Type A),” is what you’d initially expect from McIlwain’s production: elegantly dark and hard hitting beats accompanied by a stripped down synth melody and warbled vocoder sounds. The EP rounds itself out between dancefloor hits and thoughtfully composed headphone numbers, and proves to be a fresh and challenging addition to Lusine’s melodic and minimal style.
-Giovanni De La Cruz
Lusine on Last.fm

Lusine
Twilight EP
Ghostly International (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Rating: B

Receiving Jeff McIlwain’s new EP as Lusine—released on the always reliable Ghostly International label—was a bit lackluster since the tracklist is made up of only one original, a reworked bit from the producer’s A Certain Distance album, and a couple remixes of the title track tacked on for good measure. It was a bit off-putting, and I ended up focusing on the Lusine’s original material—straying from the remixes for the time being. Eventually, I warmed up to the EP’s other tracks, and was pleasantly surprised.

Jeff Samuel’s near nine-minute remix of “Twilight” moved my various appendages with ease throughout its whole runtime, and proves to be a standout addition to McIlwain’s own single. “Twilight” in its original form moves Lusine’s production from a more straightforward minimal house and techno sound into a defiantly more spacey pop direction. The lush female vocals which almost swallow the song bring Ellen Allien to mind. It’s nice to know that a former Cal Art’s electronic music major can take himself a bit less seriously, and go in a more simple and human direction. The single’s b-side, “Crowded Room (Type A),” is what you’d initially expect from McIlwain’s production: elegantly dark and hard hitting beats accompanied by a stripped down synth melody and warbled vocoder sounds. The EP rounds itself out between dancefloor hits and thoughtfully composed headphone numbers, and proves to be a fresh and challenging addition to Lusine’s melodic and minimal style.

-Giovanni De La Cruz

Lusine on Last.fm

Listen to a New Battles Song Now

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