Search - Aftermath :: Battery

Aftermath, Battery's fourth full-length disc, picks up neatly where 1996's Distance left off. More of Maria Azevedo's emotive vocals are laid over a synth- and drum-machine-driven background that falls somewhere between the brute-force pounding of industrial and the melodic underpinnings of electro-pop. That the band is on an industrial record label probably makes Battery more familiar to fans of that genre, but Azevedo's passionate, up-front, rock-influenced singing is certainly a far cry from the cold, remote, heavily processed (and male) vocals normally associated with industrial dance music. Aftermath really plays up this difference, and Azevedo sounds better and more confident here than she ever has before. Her vocal style runs from angry punk (the title track) to subdued, almost wistful pop (most of the disc, really) to anthemic rock ("Betrayal," "This Much"), most of it in service to a vitriol aimed at a cheating, manipulative, and otherwise hurtful former lover--apparently, everything's coming up thorns for Azevedo. Evan Sornstein and Shawn Brice, the other end of Battery, know enough not to lay on the effects too thick, allowing Azevedo's soulful wail to dominate. Good post-breakup music. --Steve Landau