Premiere: Battle Tapes, ‘Weight of the World’
Kevin Bronson on
1
“Weight of the World,” the new banger from Battle Tapes, sounds like something from your uncle’s rave, and that’s not at all a bad thing. Swooping in like an echo from the ’90s, the single (which is out Friday) is the first new music from the songwriting/production duo of Josh Boardman and Riley Mackin since 2017’s “Form” EP and marks a shift to an even bigger, more dynamic sound.
Boardman and Mackin spent much of last year focused on other projects, including movie trailers, TV shows and video games, and Mackin worked as a mixer and engineer on Childish Gambino’s album “Awaken My Love!” Now, as Battle Tapes near the end of their first decade, they’re gearing up to add to a catalog that includes three EPs and the 2015 album “Polygon.”
With its laser-guided synths and high-octane beats, “Weight of the World” carries quite a load. “It’s a feeling everyone can identify with,” says the duo who count Kraftwerk, Massive Attack, Soulwax, Nine Inch Nails and Daft Punk among their influences. “We witness it in different ways and in different times in our lives, but the feeling of bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders is something I think we all share. It can beat us down and break us, but can also help us relate, connect and have empathy for each other.”
||| Stream: “Weight of the World”
||| Previously: “Valkyrie”
There’s not enough hype for how hyped I am.