La Di Da Di
by Battles
  • Record Label: Warp
  • Release Date: Sep 18, 2015
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
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  1. GeeMan81
    Sep 20, 2015
    8
    As skittish, fascinating and unique as ever, Battles have created their least accessible album yet, but one still rife with brilliance and creativity.
  2. Geomcevan
    Sep 21, 2015
    10
    As a fan of the early EP's and Mirrored, this is exactly what I'd been hoping to hear from battles. The lack of a vocalist has allowed Battles to fully explore their potential and find a way to come back from trying times.
  3. Equalizinator
    Sep 25, 2015
    9
    One of my favorite albums this year. Loops examined in the fullest. Clean recording and full of new things to hear with each listen. Definitely should check it out
  4. musicboi
    Sep 18, 2015
    3
    Relentlessly annoying and half-assed even if meticulously planned. None of the badass payoff I came to expect from Mirrored and Gloss Drop. "The Yabba" is the only track that doesn't suck.
  5. BENNEB
    Sep 19, 2015
    4
    This album ended up disappointing me, unfortunately. In La Di Da Di, the album is a bore and Battles here don't even have the effort to try sound as badass or as experimental as they were before in albums such as Gloss Drop and Mirrored. The album drags on and there is no coherence. Production in the album is still pretty solid, and that is the only thing I commend the album for.
  6. nirvanafreak
    Sep 18, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. LA DI DA DI BY BATTLES
    Rating:55/100
    Favourite Tracks: The Yabba, FF Bada, Non-Violence
    Least Favourite Tracks: Dot Com
    Everything from the cover art to the lead singles sets this record up perfectly but ultimately Battles fail to deliver an album anywhere near to the quality of 'Gloss Drop'. Instead of coming through with the fun experimental record we were expecting they came through with an album of 12 plain unmemorable tracks. The album starts off with 'The Yabba'. It's kind of dissapointing in the song when it cuts to the bluesy rock riff but overall it's a pretty fun track filled with looped blips and amazingly recorded drums which introduces the listener to the records sound pretty well. But I still hoped it was just a taste (no pun intended) of things to come and I still felt this way up until the 5th track 'Cacio e Pepe'- from that point onwards nothing really caught my ear and I became certain it wasn't going to be getting better any time soon. Towards the end of the album the short songs that progressed into nothing increased, further distancing me from it. The highlight of the record is the 3rd song 'FF Bada' which has this really menacing bass horn weaved throughout the track that just gets me hooked to the track every time I hear it. I listened to the album in whole about 4 times while it was available to stream on npr and each time I became a little more disinterested with it but I think many other people will still love it for its individuality and danceable sound and despite my criticism I can still appreciate the skills of the band, some of the sounds they create would be extremely hard to reproduce and if you watch a video of them performing (which I suggest you do) you can see how precise they have to be. It will almost definitely be used for some kind of game, I mean I don't like the song 'Dot Com' I think it sounds a bit stupid but it would fit well on supermariokart wii or some **** like that.
    Will I Return To It: To a couple of tracks yeah    … Expand
  7. Magpiepie
    Sep 21, 2015
    6
    When I thought "Dot Com" is a Chemical Brothers track in the 2000s, I'm deeply concerned about the future of my favorite band.

    Remember, this band was said to be "sounds from the far future" by critics when Mirrored was released. The first 4 tracks were solid with colorful arrangement and wonderfully fluid structure. Things begin to slack off at track 5 "Cacio e Pepe", where songs    When I thought "Dot Com" is a Chemical Brothers track in the 2000s, I'm deeply concerned about the future of my favorite band.

    Remember, this band was said to be "sounds from the far future" by critics when Mirrored was released.

    The first 4 tracks were solid with colorful arrangement and wonderfully fluid structure. Things begin to slack off at track 5 "Cacio e Pepe", where songs begin to rely mostly on the same loop throughout the whole track to sustain their coherence. "Dot Com", as pointed out by a few other comments here, was the least inspired track out of all. The pace picks up again at "Megatouch", but only if you can endure the cheesy "Dracula"-esque synths in the beginning. "Luu Le" returns to the high point of the imaginative composition of "The Yabba". Overall, it's still a very solid album that I would listen over and over, and will definitely go to live shows for.

    I listened to EP C / B EP, Mirrored and Gloss Drop again, and while La Di Da Di is highly enjoyable, it lacks the surprising hooks of the previous albums. It's essentially Gloss Drop without vocals. In my humble opinion, this album seems to show that the palette that the band had invented in the EP has now been fully exhausted, and the excessive use of Ableton Live has only made this worse. If the band wants to adventure and expand their sounds for their next album, for better or for worse, it might not be a bad idea to recruit a new 4th member just to take them out of this comfort zone.    … Expand
  8. Lovdahl
    Jan 31, 2016
    8
    This is the one record of 2015 that split a fan base the most (sorry Kendrick). Loyal listeners of Battles, the not-so-recent power trio, were anticipating “La Di Da Di” since the first oddly-pornographic photo of a banana and pancakes was released. They knew that this album was going to be strictly instrumental, which is a departure from Battles’ previous two records. But, Battles haveThis is the one record of 2015 that split a fan base the most (sorry Kendrick). Loyal listeners of Battles, the not-so-recent power trio, were anticipating “La Di Da Di” since the first oddly-pornographic photo of a banana and pancakes was released. They knew that this album was going to be strictly instrumental, which is a departure from Battles’ previous two records. But, Battles have always had a penchant for vocal-less tracks, so it’s not a big surprise that the ambitious virtuosos would push their talents to new limits by eliminating vocals altogether; consequently, this caused a rift in the base: some preferred “La Di Da Di”’s instrumental experimentation, while others absolutely hated the record and were sorely disappointed. Myself, I happen to really enjoy “La Di Da Di”. I could listen to these guys noodle on their guitars all day long. As expected, the playing is focused and flawless, while also sounding unorthodox and angular. If you like instrumental math or post-rock, join the winning side of this schism: we have bananas and pancakes.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. Magnet
    Oct 14, 2015
    90
    [A] consummate artistic triumph. [No. 125, p.56]
  2. No Ripcord
    Oct 13, 2015
    50
    La Di Da Di is full of very cool timbres and some incredible drumming, but its arrangements leave a lot to be desired.
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  3. Clash Music
    Oct 2, 2015
    50
    Like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, La Di Da Di too often feels like a soulless automaton tearing around on autopilot. If only it had a heart.
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