Battery was recorded in one 12-hour studio session by four musicians, however Inscape is normally a rather solo venture. The musical alias of South East London singer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Russell, he normally does the majority of the work himself. But this song required something else. And that’s evident on first listen.
This song is impossible to envisage in any other way. It simply had to be the breathing, evolving beast that it has become.
Beginning life simply, with four chords and a metronome, Battery has developed into a full-on krautrock journey. Peppered with strange synth sounds, pounding, persistent percussion, consistent chords and clearly, carefully, crafted to be the best that it can be.
The song grows organically over its almost eight minutes – starting out like Death Cab For Cutie’s Doors Unlocked and Open but ultimately transforming into something gruffer, grittier and gigantic. The sounds of Sonic Youth, LCD Soundsystem, Shellac and MBV combine to make something distinctive, memorable and utterly compelling.
It’s an incredible voyage.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
