'Battle Sirens' fails to live up to Knife Party’s reputation, despite Tom Morello's strong guitar work.
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After finding critical acclaim with their 2012 hit ‘Bonfire’ and debut LP Abandon Ship, Knife Party’s latest is believed to be the first sound of their second full-length. Collaborating with Tom Morello, the lead guitarist from Rage Against The Machine, ‘Battle Sirens’ is an electro-dance fusion born from their dubstep roots, however it ultimately fails to deliver on its promise.
There are some nice moments within the track, like Morello’s catchy and quirky solo a minute in that leads well in to the more focal dubstep beat to come. I also like the almost mystical feel that the beat later gains, though this is accompanied by a somewhat off-putting siren noise that hampers the flow of the overall track. What is most surprising is just how overly repetitive the beat manages to become – though even a totally instrumental track needs some continuity, it feels like all ideas on the construction and design of the beat were exhausted within the first two minutes. It then just seems to re-arrange these patterns under the mere illusion of originality.
‘Battle Sirens’ also lacks the potent hooks for which Knife Party is renowned, feeling rather lacklustre and poorer than their other records through its weak energy. It’s a real shame as Morello’s style could have been put to better use here to create a more iconic beat, which could also have perhaps been aided by some vocal assistance, but the potential was not exploited.
‘Battle Sirens’ is out now via Warner
