Mini-album from the brooding Battle.
The debut mini-album from Battle 'Back To Earth' is a dark and brooding creation. Beginning with 'Wicked Owl', this song would be perfect accompaniment to a melancholy stroll across the desolate moors. After managing to evoke imagery like this, Battle immediately govern the attention of my ears. Second track 'Tendency' is a very strong song, capturing a mood similar to The Cure combined with Echo and the Bunnymen's darker moments. 'Tendency' is fast paced with discontent howling from every note.
The fast pace decelerates a little for 'Beautiful Dynasty', a song lead by acoustic guitar which mourns the waste of a failing relationship. With sorrowful lyrics mentioning mountains and "rain in your heart" this song builds on my mental canvas of this album, with images of love-lorn individuals flinging themselves around in fields. The darkness of this album mixed with its lovelorn spirit awakens my inner gothic and leaves me fascinated by the tales being told here.
'One More Night' is a more upbeat and hopeful tale, while still retaining the sombre sound of earlier songs. 'I Never Stopped' features some of the album's strongest lyrics and is a powerful and emotive song about chasing happiness and being left housebound. The fans favourite 'Isabelle' is a soft song lamenting the connection between two people who share their secrets. Final track 'Easy To Listen To' is a whisper of a song, a gentle way to end a very strong mini-album. After hearing 'Back To Earth' I wonder if more bands could make good albums if they only chose their songs more wisely and limited their songs to seven. There are no mediocre fillers here and the album's brevity only enhances its impact.
With their full-length debut available early next year being proceeded by a limited edition 7" of 'Beautiful Dynasty', Battle are a dark but irresistible force for the future.