Battles - Tonto

The warped sound of a music box that you might find lying around Aphex Twin’s house is always a good start to any epic single.

Tonto, the latest single from the New York “math rock” (shouldn’t that be maths?) four–piece is seven minutes long but very quickly a rumbling rhythm that recalls Amadou & Miriam’s excellent Malian funk work-out Coulibaly, sets an exhilarating ride in motion. Behind a twanging bass line, Native American chanting (I think I heard them say “Kemosabe”), rocking guitar solos and experimental electronics merge like a meeting of high-speed motorways. It’s enough to make your head spin but the pulsating groove pushes you on until proceedings are gradually brought to a conclusion with an lush ambient climax that will never survive the radio edits.