Dross Glop

Gathering Battles' remix series into an album, Dross Glop's aesthetic remains true to Gloss Drop, even if the results sound worlds away from it. Like the band's second album, these tracks continue the trend of working only with the most cutting-edge, if somewhat unlikely, artists; this time the roster includes lauded dance and hip-hop producers as well as rock experimentalists, reflecting just how eclectic — and malleable — Battles' music is. Indeed, Gloss Drop was already so fragmented that it begs for further splintering, and Dross Glop branches out like a piece of cracked glass under pressure. Many remixers went in the opposite direction of the band's busy, muscular sound, most strikingly on the Field's massive, mechanical yet lulling version of "Sweetie and Shag," where the only remnant of the original track is a breath of Kazu Makino's vocal flitting around like a ghost in the machine, and on Qluster's hazy but fascinating remix of "Dominican Fade," where brass and percussion drift in and out over a pealing keyboard loop. Then there are the remixers who mirror Gloss Drop's sound but bend it to their own whims, such as Shabazz Palaces' brittle, low-slung "White Electric," which isn't just the only track to feature new vocals, but one of the few songs that feels like a collaboration instead of a remodeling. Gang Gang Dance gives Gloss Drop single "Ice Cream" one of the most playful and successful treatments, adding to it a futuristic Latin twist with dive-bombing bass, a low-rider beat, and chanting vocals, while Boredoms' Eye, the lone artist to appear on Gloss Drop and Dross Glop, remixes his own "Sundome" and makes it even more gonzo with a four-on-the-floor beat, merry steel drums, and chopped-up vocals that make it sound like Carnaval on the moon. Like many remix collections, Dross Glop doesn't flow particularly well, and it's not quite as dazzling as Gloss Drop, but it once again shows that Battles are up for anything.