Battant - Kevin [1989] / Blah Blah

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  • Battant are billed as Andrew Weatherall's prodigees and, bearing in mind how patchy his own electro rock crossover 'Wrong Meeting' was, it seems they've been made very much in his own image. 'Kevin' is almost a straight up indie track that would have shone in 1996 when Sleeper and Elastica were in the charts. Now it grates. Ok, 'Bah!' quickens the pulse but is pretty much punk/electro/rock and roll by numbers. It has neither the sleaziness of Spektrum, the raucus party vibe of The Rapture or the depth and quality of production in !!!. It's also surprisingly commercial which, whilst making it an unlikely candidate for a chart hit, means it's going to wear thin fast. WeatherBoard sort of saves the day by turning 'Kevin' into a night-time, Joy Division-esque epic. The only remnants of the chippy, chirpy original are echoey guitars flicks, snatches of vocals and the kick drum. This isn't one of the best KTDJ releases and whilst they have to be aplauded for trying something different, it's a let-down for a label that's normally the hallmark of excellence.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Kevin [1989] A2 Blah Blah B Kevin [1989] (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
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