BATTERY
AFTERMATH ALBUM COP, SUBSPACE COMMUNICATIONS/PLAYGROUND RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 6, 1999 (SCANDINAVIA) REVIEW: OCTOBER 8, 1999 
"I hope you hurt as much as me!". Maria Ezevedo transfers her rage, her inner anxiety to the listener. The line is taken from the title track, "Aftermath" from the album by the same name. A track filled to the brim with anguish and disgust, sung very credibly with a large amount of emphasis. The promo material claim Battery to be an electronic pop band. I beg to differ. I find influential sources from almost every alternative genre; trip hop, industrial, synthpop, EBM, ambient, you name it! To put Battery's sound in one word, I'd have to say experimental. Not experimental as in using hair dryers and washing machines in your creation process, but as in combining a wide range of unlikely angles with a strong pop foundation. The first half of "Aftermath" is amazing, and you're left in a muddle of emotion and depression. The strictly synth dominated music is a bit too cold at times, but I guess that was the intention, accompanying Maria's tales of hearts being broken and revenge cravings. The other half of the record doesn't even come close to the first one, with the exception of "Never Left", a strong, tender ballad. On the whole, a bit too innovative for their own good. So, if you commend experimentalism, raise the grade a level or two. I concentrated on the songs and they don't reach as far as the ideas. NIKLAS FORSBERG |
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