Now, as impressive Battles are to me, they're also incredibly annoying sometimes. The addition of Tyondai's 'seven dwarf-like' vocals to this album being victim to this opinion also. I mean, I'm thankful someone's making this kind of music, and on a fairly mainstream level ('Atlas' being 'NME track of the week' an' all...) but if they're not being infectious, they're testing my patience. It's a kind of love/hate thing.

You can't overlook how strong this album is in places though, the first few tracks being absolutely flawless. It just works so well - perfect example being 'Atlas' (single of the year, surely?) so weird, yet so driving. I've danced myself into a frenzy with this song. A very odd frenzy. So complex, yet so fun. Yes, it's fun, too! Too many of the reviews I've read of this album focus on the 'buzz words' for this band: math, glam-rock (can kind of see that with the Atlas rhythm... but... erm, huh?), time signatures (even though most of the album is in 4/4) - yet the cheeky keyboard/guitar taps, nonsenical melodies weeving around go a miss, even the high-pitched vocals... how can you take them so seriously? Yes it all works to make something really individual, something really 'Battles', but I can't help but smile when I hear this album! The whole thing still surprises me: how... HOW... do they write this stuff?!?!

This is 4 people totally in control of what sounds they're exhibiting. (Almost) anything can happen - like the naughty Red Hot Chili Pepper-like funk riffs thrown into 'Tonto', just in case you thought you knew what to expect from Battles. I guess that's the best thing about this band though, try to put your finger down on them and, like that bit of fluff (or whatever it is) in your drink, it'll just move out of the way... It can be frustrating, but fun too.

Craig Sharp