In 2009, singer-songwriter Matt Drenik made Portland his home. Along with, he brought a soulful voice that blends perfectly into blues based, alternative rock n roll. Matt did not waste anytime making music in this city and quickly formed Battleme, who are set to release their second album, Future Runs Magnetic on the newly formed label, El Camino Records.

The first, self-titled album is an electric form of its current identity with highly technical productions (produced by Thomas Turner of Ghostland Observatory) and featured a large variety of sounds throughout. The new album has been a work in the making as Matt brought in a team of musicians to form Battleme and evolve the sound into its cohesive alt-rock state.

Future Runs Magnetic starts off with the single, “Just Weight”, a the bass driven ballad with heavy drums that hammer bridges into the chorus and back to the verses. This dictates the pace for the rest of the album, it thrives on layering electric guitars and screeching vocals. The production is raw and clean to the point where you can imagine yourself standing in the studio, watching the recording. The song “We Get Out” starts out with a happy piano riff and then explodes into a rock anthem along the same lines as Andrew WK and you can feel the energy build the whole way through.

As with the first album, it’s Matt’s hollowing voice that ties each song and the entire album together. While the guitars give the sound a post-grunge edge, the vocals show tribute to a classic rock backbone that truly makes for an original sound. The Future Runs Magnetic album release party is taking place at Club 21 this Saturday so come out and see why Portland is lucky to have this band on its roster. - Colin Hudson