If the departure of Tyondai Braxton has effected BATTLES' sound in the least, that's news to me. Admittedly, I haven't spent enough time with their newish LP, Gloss Drop, to really make a statement regarding its validity in comparison to Mirrored, which was on some other shit entirely. But when placed alongside material from the debut in a live setting, as it was last night at Royale, their new stuff holds its own.

Battles, the acclaimed New York-based experimental post-rock supergroup, has lost a soldier.

Singer/guitarist/keyboardist Tyondai Braxton has left the band in advance of Battles' upcoming sophomore album, the still-unnamed anticipated follow-up to 2007's Mirrored. Braxton released an orchestral solo album, Central Market, last year, which featured his trademark loop composition.