''Dross Glop'' is a
remix compilation album by American
experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...
band
Battles
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. It was released on April 16, 2012, and compiles remixes by various artists of Battles' songs from ''
Gloss Drop
''Gloss Drop'' is the second studio album by American experimental rock band Battles, released on Warp Records in June 2011.
Most of the album is instrumental, but vocals are provided by various guests performers, including electronic musician G ...
'' (2011), eleven of which were originally released over a series of four
12-inch single
The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...
s. The compilation includes a remix of "Sundome" that was not included on any of the vinyl releases.
The four 12" singles were numbered from 1 to 4, and were announced on Battles' website and Facebook page, and released from February (the first on February 6/7 internationally and in the US, respectively) to April 2012. The final part, ''Dross Glop 4'', was released on
Record Store Day 2012
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
(April 21), following the release of this compilation.
The album title is a
spoonerism
A spoonerism is an occurrence in speech in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis) between two words in a phrase. These are named after the Oxford don and ordained minister William Archibald Spooner, w ...
of the title of the band's album ''
Gloss Drop
''Gloss Drop'' is the second studio album by American experimental rock band Battles, released on Warp Records in June 2011.
Most of the album is instrumental, but vocals are provided by various guests performers, including electronic musician G ...
'', which the original versions of the songs are from. All four of the vinyl sleeves and the compilation's cover are also based on the initial art for ''Gloss Drop'', intermixing different colored paints on the pink of the original sculpture.
Reception
''Dross Glop'' received a score of 63/100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
''
musicOMH'' summarised that the album was "unchallenging territory" for the band, giving it three out of five stars.
''
Slant Magazine''s Kevin Liedel, in a two-out-of-five stars review, opined that "while the album's contributors lean in a well-intentioned direction, preferring organic, innovative methods over simply pasting some vocal lines and guitar riffs on top of standard, synth-driven
BPMs
Business process management (BPM) is the discipline in which people use various methods to Business process discovery, discover, Business process modeling, model, Business analysis, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and Business process autom ...
, ''Dross Glop'' is, at best, uneven,"
also calling it "scattershot, meandering, awkward, and often boring".
''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' John Garratt said, "The best remix albums can capture the listener's imagination and take it down bold new paths. But in this case, if you want bold imagination, you really should side with the original ''Gloss Drop''."
More positive reviews came from such publications as ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'', who awarded the album 7.8 out of 10, and acclaimed
Hudson Mohawke
Ross Matthew Birchard (born 11 February 1986), better known by the stage name Hudson Mohawke, is a Scottish-American producer, composer, and DJ from Glasgow. He is known for his influential work in 21st century hip-hop and electronic music. A ...
's remix of "Rolls Bayce", calling it "an unexpectedly soft and emotive take from the Glasgow producer";
Kode9's remix of "Africastle", saying it is a "seven-minute,
house-focused mini set of sorts, fizzing and grinding ominously before slamming into a kind of
chiptune dancehall dance party";
and Qluster's "Dominican Fade", which "pairs prim horns with beautiful organ glimmers, sounding nothing like the source material but no worse for it."
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
's Heather Phares gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, and said "Gang Gang Dance gives ''Gloss Drop'' single 'Ice Cream' one of the most playful and successful treatments, adding to it a futuristic
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
twist with dive-bombing bass, a low-rider beat, and chanting vocals," also noting that "Like many remix collections, ''Dross Glop'' doesn't flow particularly well, and it's not quite as dazzling as ''Gloss Drop'', but it once again shows that Battles are up for anything."
Track listing
* These tracks were edited for the CD release, but are included on the vinyl formats in their original full-length forms.
''Dross Glop 1''
Released February 6, 2012 internationally and February 7 in the US.
''Dross Glop 2''
Released February 20, 2012 internationally and February 21 in the US.
''Dross Glop 3''
Released on March 19, 2012 internationally and March 20 in the US.
''Dross Glop 4''
Released April 21, 2012 (
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
) in the US and internationally.
References
{{Authority control
2012 remix albums
Warp (record label) albums
Battles (band) compilation albums
Albums produced by Hudson Mohawke