Album Info Hide Show Artist: Battles Album: Juice B Crypts Released: Europe, 2019 Tracklist: A1 Ambulance 4:20 A2 A Loop So Nice… 2:14 A3 They Played It Twice 3:09 B1 Sugar Foot 5:18 B2 Fort Greene Park 5:45 C1 Titanium 2 Step 3:26 C2 Hiro 3 1:08 C3 IZM 3:36 D1 Juice B Crypts 3:56 D2 The Last Supper On Shasta 7:47 Info About Buying Vinyl From Our Record Store We are a small independent record store located at 211 High St, Preston in Melbourne, Australia (North of Northcote, between Thornbury & Reservoir) We buy and sell new and used vinyl records – if you have a collection you’d like to sell please click here . We ship Australia wide for a flat rate of $10 for standard shipping or $15 for express post. Free Shipping for orders $150 and over. You can also pick up your order in store, just select Local Pickup at the checkout. We also ship internationally – prices vary depending on weight and location. We ship vinyls in thick, rigid carboard mailers with a crushable zone on either side, and for extra safety we bubble wrap the records. In stock vinyl is usally shipped next business day, please check the availability field at the top of the product page to see whether the record is currently in stock or if it is available from the supplier as well as estimated shipping times. If you order an in stock item together with a pre order or back order (listed as available from supplier rather than in stock) then the order will be shipped together when all items arrive. If you would like the in stock items shipped first please place two separate orders or contact us to arrange shipping items separately. We are strongly committed to customer satisfaction. If you experience any problems with your order contact us so we can rectify the situation. If the record arrives damaged or doesn’t arrive we will cover the cost of replacing or returning the record. If you change your mind you have 30 days to return your record but you must cover the cost of returning it to the store. You can contact our Melbourne record shop at (03) 9939 3807 or at [email protected] Happy Listening! Description Hide Show Battles hit a strange, joyful stride on Juice B Crypts, released October 18, 2019 by Warp Records. It arrived as their first full-length as a duo, with Ian Williams and John Stanier carrying the torch after Dave Konopkas departure in 2018, and it feels like a decisive pivot. The music is still all clockwork tension, bright loops, and that signature drum authority, but theres a new gleam to it, a city-light shine. They once built labyrinths out of math-rock riffs. Here they slice, splice, and rewire ideas like a DJ crew that grew up on Steve Reich, Liquid Liquid, and old video game cartridges. The record wastes no time showing its hand. A Loop So Nice…, a quick, teasing prelude, tumbles straight into They Played It Twice, and the title is the gag and the method. Its playful but not flimsy, thanks to Staniers hard, athletic snare and Williams cut-glass keys. Xenia Rubinos slips into the mix and turns repetition into hook, almost like shes daring the loop to find new shapes under her phrasing. This is the trick of the album in miniature. The bands old knotty bravado is still there, but the palette has been refreshed, more neon than chrome. Juice B Crypts is packed with guests, and the features feel purposeful, even historic in one case. IZM brings in Shabazz Palaces, whose syllables bounce off the duos stuttering synth architecture as if they were designed for it. Sal Principato of the legendary New York outfit Liquid Liquid appears on Titanium 2 Step, which lands like a one-city family reunion. Principatos rallying vocal tic and hand-percussion vibe pull a direct line from downtown post-punk to Battles hypermodern pulse. Tune-Yards help close the curtain on Last Supper on Shasta, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, two tracks that function like a funhouse mirror, their vocal layers tugging the rhythmic center around while Stanier holds the ground with a clean, piston-like groove. The title track might be the best distillation of this era of the band. Its shiny and busy, built from clipped motifs that stack and refract until your ear settles into the pattern like focusing on a Magic Eye. Fort Greene Park, named for the Brooklyn landmark, eases the tempo just enough to let all that circuitry breathe. Its not a ballad, its a scenic overlook, the sort of track you put on while walking through the neighborhood that gave it its name. Hiro 3 pushes the other way, a jittery, almost arcade-like sprint that reminds you Williams keyboard rig can be as feral as any guitar pedal chain. Listening front to back, you can hear how deliberately theyve framed New York. In interviews around release, Williams talked about the citys density shaping both the writing and the structure, and you can feel that grid under the songs. This isnt nostalgia for their Mirrored days or a retread of Gloss Drop. Its a lively reorientation, the work of two musicians who know exactly where their strengths live. Staniers drums are recorded with a crisp, metallic snap that makes every snare accent count. Williams loops, chops, and harmonizes in a way that turns a two-piece into a small orchestra without hiding behind haze. Critics picked up on this charge. The album drew broadly positive notes for its tight, high-energy sequencing and its smart use of collaborators, and fans quickly anointed They Played It Twice, IZM, and Titanium 2 Step as standouts in the live set. It also slots neatly into the Battles discography as the fourth studio album, a succinct answer to anyone worried about how the band would evolve as a duo. If youre crate-digging, Juice B Crypts vinyl is the way to hear how these interlocking patterns bloom in space. The low end sits firm, the cymbals dont smear, and those glassy arpeggios feel almost tactile. I found my copy at a Melbourne record store while passing through on tour, and it has become the version I reach for when friends ask where to start with Battles vinyl. If you prefer to buy Battles records online, stock isnt hard to find, and its worth browsing the various pressings if youre collecting Battles albums on vinyl. Even shops that specialise in vinyl records Australia tend to keep Warp titles in rotation, which says something about how well this album has traveled. Juice B Crypts is the sound of Battles tightening their circle and inviting others into it. Its precise but lively, dense yet lithe, and generous in the way great city records are. Drop the needle, let the loops fold in on themselves, and youll hear two players having a conversation that keeps opening new doors. Product Reviews Hide Show Write a Review