New Battles video for 'My Machines': Best of the year?

New Battles video for ‘My Machines’: Best of the year?

Sept. 8, 2011 9:26 AM PT

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Yes, the VMAs were last weekend, but we’ve already got a contender for next year (as if): the new video by the New York band Battles for the song ‘My Machines,’ featuring a career-reviving star turn from Gary Numan.

Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schienert, known collective as Daniels, the clip is a little painful to watch, but not in a gross way -- though trace amounts of blood do appear. The team has also done great work for Chromeo (in which their music instantly impregnates dozens of women), Manchester Orchestra and, most notably, the fantastic sparkler-frenzy that is the Hundred in the Hands video for ‘Pigeons.’

The song ‘My Machines’ is taken from the most recent Battles full-length, ‘Gloss Drop.’

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-- Randall Roberts

Pop & Hiss

Randall Roberts

Former staff writer Randall Roberts covered Los Angeles music culture for the Los Angeles Times. He had served various roles since arriving at The Times in 2010, including music editor and pop music critic. As a staff writer, he explored the layered history of L.A. music, from Rosecrans and Sunset to Ventura Boulevard and beyond. His 2020 project on the early Southern California phonograph industry helped identify the first-ever commercial recording made in Los Angeles.