Battleme - Habitual Love Songs (2016)

Portland by way of Austin and Ohio musician Matt Drenik aka Battleme kicks off 2016 with his third full-length studio album Habitual Love Songs. The new album is the follow up to 2014's Future Runs Magnetic and was co-produced by Drenik and his brother Jason Drenik (Hairy Patt Band). They recorded the 14-song set at Revolver Studios in Portland with the help of Paul Pulvirenti (Elliott Smith, No. 2) on drums and a revolving cast of players, including Chad Savage, JJ Eliot, Colin Hegna (Brian Jonestown Massacre) and William Slater (Grails, Denver).

Drenik and company supported Future Runs Magnetic with a series of headlining runs and also snagged impressive support slots, including extensive tours with both The Toadies and Veruca Salt and a run of select dates with Metric. After spending almost a year on the road, Drenik took some time off for a series of writing retreats and came up with 20 demos whose sound was loaded with grit, street, and strut that had a garage edge firmly rooted in the 70s.

Habitual Love Songs kicks off with the driving "Post Is Dead," which sums up his year of touring in a single swoop, "I can't survive alone." The album continues with the nocturnal binge of "All Night, All Night" and moves to the adolescent past of "Pete's Song." The ratty, childhood friends of "The Boats In Ohio" give way to the street screaming blur of "Go" and a nod to a lost friend in "Back to You."