Battleme’s debut self-titled album is a collection of danceable, electro-rock songs with a few acoustic and mellowed out pieces to switch things up. Although much of the disc is made up of tracks that if sped up a bit could be strong club anthems, there are a series of clean and more natural sounding pieces on the track list as well. The first track on Battleme that doesn’t have a banging beat behind it is “Killer High,” which shows off Matt Drenik’s calm voice with carefree and soothing acoustic guitar riffs. Battleme picks up the energy once again with “Shoot The Noise, Man” and “Woman, I’m A Lost Cause.” The two songs both flow incredibly well together and have the heaviest beats on the disc.
There are some cuts on the CD that aren’t up to par with the rest of the tracks, such as “Tears In My Pile,” and “Doin’ Time In My Head Ain’t Cheap.” Both of these songs, although pleasing to the ear, don’t mesh very well with the other numbers on the release. Despite the minor setbacks that those two numbers provide, the release picks right back up with “Wait For Me.” With its slamming drums and Drenik’s screeching voice, the song is easily one of the strongest on the disc. The final two cuts are light and mark the return of Drenik’s silky voice. The finale, “Pocket Full Of Flies,” has an uplifting melody as well as swift keys that ends Battleme on an uplifting note.
At first listen, it may seem that Battleme’s album may not flow correctly, but after listening to the first couple of tracks there was no denying that it’s in a class of its own.
In A Word: Striking
