From the first buzz received with the release of their first single
Atlas, it was evident that Battles had plenty of surprises hidden away in their proverbial trunk for their debut full length
Mirrored. The first time I heard
Atlas I imagined a post-math prog-rock At The Drive-In covering the Oompa Loompa theme straight out of Tim Burtons version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The first thing that grabbed me soon as I could hold
Mirrored in my own hands, was the slick as hell album cover with a photo of all the bands equipment (inside the same glass cube or room from the
Atlas video) all in primary sports car colours: red, yellow, black and white. I reckon the albums production resembles the same polished sheen you would expect on the outside of such fine machinery, but under the hood (maybe rather than thinking of a new Bond car, think a Transformer) theres a completely different beast to tame.
With this record, the New York four-piece outfit that includes members of Helmet and Don Caballero also adds (heavily processed, mostly through vocoder) vocals into their mix of live and programmed instrumentation for the first time. From album opener
Race:In you find yourself picking up speed on a Tokyo highway to Willy Wonkas other factory in Japan of toys & gadgetry manufacturing and crazy fun complete with a tune to whistle along to on your merry personal tour of the place. Yes indeed, you are a winner from the start.
Then after
Atlas,
Ddiamondd.m serves up a sped up Green Is For Turbo interpretation of the marching theme on the rocks with a franticness that would make lovers of
Suspended Animation(by Fantomas) proud. That said, as would
Rainbow, where it sounds like the Chipmunks singing something like Figaro mashing into Tortoises
Its all around you before breaking into an anthemic Wilderness-like singing while sounds reverberate with a touch of Avey Tare and co. Actually, it sounds like the members of Battles have revisited a bunch of Tortoise albums with this excursion when I hear other tracks on the album like
Snare Hanger (with some more Animal Collective type chanting at the end) and
Tij (though The Mars Volta runs a bit stronger in there). On
Prismism it even (almost) sounds like when Tortoise performed (well mimed)
Seneca in front of a live audience of bemused children on the TV show Chic-a-Go-Go dressed up in ape suits.
On
Tonto they sound like Modest Mouse if Isaac Brock chose to re-record tracks like
Tiny Cities made of Ashes or even
Moon and Antarctica in it’s entirety in the same haunted studio/house that The Mars Volta recorded
De-Loused in the Comatorium in. Well, thats until the song starts rocking out half way through like Rage Against the Machine in 16-bit mode before a brief synthesized cheng-like chord progression and then slows down into a jingle like Santas bling on his magical reindeer powered sleigh after a night out on a most bizarre town.
On earlier releases (
EP C,
EP B and
Tras), Battles were making music that sounded like something you would think members of aforementioned bands put together would churn out with cohorts Les Claypool and Mike Patton, though opening themselves up to many more influences as they progressed, maybe picking up some 31 Knots, and Steve Reich albums up along their way. But now with new tracks like
Bad Trails, they end up sounding like they put on either
Here Comes the Indian or
Feels after taking some mushrooms.
All in all this is one heck of an eclectic album to say the least, whether you have been pondering what Tortoise on steroids playing prog would sound like, you like your pop with some Deerhoof and Polysics in it, want your Black Dice sprinkled with Four Tet prettiness, or if you have been an avid Warp label fan but have waited for something more exciting again since Jackson and His Computer Band release
Smash. The thing is when each and every single track is so unique that the best way to describe it is to drop other artists names along a plethora of descriptions, you know that one, you wont get tired of it cause every listen you will pick up something new, and two, its going to inspire more musicians to strive for something that cant be simply pigeonholed. And
Mirrored has definitely done so, setting the bar for some exciting prospects.
This is robot rock of the future - micro-chip powered prog and IDM beats that spazzes and grooves under the control of some extraordinary musicians. Its music that has crossed the finish line miles ahead of its contemporaries. At the same time, this album finds me extremely jealous of my friends old bumper sticker
I have BATTLES in my life.
An awesome release and undoubtedly one of the best this year!
Race InRainbowSnare Hanger+ MYSPACERobot love,
- Ri.
