Of the experimental New York foursome that were Battles, only two remain: Ian Williams and John Stanier. No, they didn’t actually battle each other (although they should say they did). It’s funny to think of their 2006 track “Tras”—which sounded like a metal song that became a math equation—as this group’s hit single, but that’s what we were nodding our heads to on the way to shows. Over the past few albums, Battles has fooled with incorporating vocals into their complex and symmetrical “bleep bloop” compositions, and on their new album Juice B Crypts they include one-off collaborations with singers like Xenia Rubinos, rappers like Shabazz Palaces, and groups like Tune-Yards. But I still like their instrumental tracks like “A Loop So Nice” best. by Suzette Smith