Courting – Battle Review

You cannot go to battle if you sell your sword in the merch shop. The fate of the Courting merchandise sword remains unknown. Not because the band is keeping it hush hush but with the choppy internet connection of a rented new build and the paper-thin walls preventing streamlined access to the information superhighway, loading the storefront takes time unavailable to those still yet to unpack from a trip to Oslo. We can stay closer to home and hear other bands, not least Courting, who are set to play the main stage of Leedsfest on the last day. The prices we pay to hear the future of post-punk and Lana Del Rey. On stage together? Unfortunately not. But in preparation, what better time to revisit Battle?  

The classic Courting track which bridges the gap between Field Music and New Last Name feels more pertinent now than ever. Streets across England have been torn up, new battle lines drawn by far-right thugs lifting half-decent clobber from stores whose windows have been smashed under the thin guise of an excuse for protection. Battle is a shock to the system as the riots and generalised, racially driven thuggery has been. Courting did not intend for it to be a palette cleanser for ugly scenes but when the death drive opens Battle, which marches along with percussion-led perspectives on what, initially, was jealousy in the face of love elsewhere. But now the bricks and mortar of Battle feel refreshed. The smaller, skulking men with high-speed intentions. Maybe everything can be linked to contemporary horrors if we try hard enough.  

Because ultimately, Battle is a light love song with lived-in experiences of parties, productive heartbreak and performances of emotional grandeur. Home comforts and the warmer joys are no more. We grow up, get old and gamble away our habits and hobbies for a chance at happiness. Sometimes it means moving to Leeds and doing up a townhouse, other times it means swallowing your pride and hopes to stick it out in a job you feel numb for. With Battle, it is the excess and realising the damage it does even if it leads to a possible happiness. What we hope to experience and what we will experience, no matter the road or route, are inherently different. A perplexing experience and a wild momentum run through this Courting track – a buried hit which missed out on being a New Last Name essential. It remains a crucial part of their discography. 

Adapt its words to whatever you need. Bend it to your necessities and find comfort in it. Is that not what the looser appeal of Courting is all about? Sing those chances back. We afford those who do not deserve a second chance more than a few tries and are shocked when we are left bitter, bruised and broken. Battle does well to navigate through the psychological battle and the fear factor of emotional risk but also wonders of the thuggery and alternates to your goodwill. What is it that is unveiled by our honesty that pushes and ruins a simpler peace? Battle does not have the answer, but it is a shock point of tender, appropriable work. If the shoe fits, wear it until the sole falls out.