Battles - Tonto+ (Warp)
4/5
By: Liam Manley
Having scored one of the leftfield hits of the year with 'Atlas' (although, rather like Justice's 'D.A.N.C.E.', nobody seems to recall actually buying it), the critically-untouchable math-rock superstars now release a multimedia E.P.
Lead track 'Tonto+', the most straightforward and almost introspective selection from 'Mirrored' (probably because it limits the evil elf vocals to one passage), is also represented here by an extended version along with 'Leyendecker', both recorded at the FRF festival. Unfortunately, these versions do not do them justice as a live act, only serving to expose their over-reliance on John Stanier's steadfast drumming to provide the bottom end.
Remixes of 'Tonto+' come courtesy of Kompakt's The Field (a so-so tech-house workout) and Four Tet who, considering Kieran Hebden's penchant for jazz-inflected electronica, surprisingly leads in a house direction also (a much less meandering than expected 9 minutes). To round off the E.P. is Brooklyn MC's Joell Ortiz and DJ Emz's remix/re-version 'Leyendecker', adding some much needed bounce to proceedings.
Check out the bonus DVD disc also for the video of the title track, which sees Stanier and co. trapped inside a triangular light-strip maze at the bottom of a quarry. Or, just like everyone else, you could watch it on You Tube, I suppose. (Or Rockfeedback, in fact).
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