Battle Ave have mellowed out a bit in the four years since their debut album. Chalk it up to lineup changes or just plain old maturation, but the New York band’s more recent output has seen them heading in a more meditative direction. Not that they were ever in-your-face, but their string of one-offs from earlier this year demonstrate a more patient hand, one more concerned with the long haul than the quick release. “Aleph,” the band’s first single from their upcoming sophomore record Year Of Nod, shows off this appreciation for the reflective. It’s a misty-eyed, understated track, pillowed by gorgeous instrumentation and more focused on building atmosphere than driving a point home. On the surface, the song sounds almost preternaturally chill, but underneath they reveal a deep-seated sentimentality, best evidenced by the couplets that punctuate the first two verses: “You don’t have to be unkind/ Left behind” and “You’ve got you’re thing and I’ve got mine/ Left behind.” Listen below.

Year Of Nod is out 5/5 via Seagreen Records.