Battles - Mirrored

Nope, but I think I might pick it up this week. I've heard nothing but good about it.

This CD is evil. It's really good, but my brain is actively telling me that this is how music is supposed to played in a post apocalyptic wasteland.

It really takes more than one listening to appreciate it.

It is good chaos, isn't it? There's another thread on here about their live show from a month or two ago, with some pics that I took. They're coming back through Atlanta in a month or so. Do catch them live if you get the chance!

Did that. They came through Montreal in early April, so I got a (cheap) ticket out of sheer curiosity because of your thread. It took half their set to get accustomized to their distinct sound, but it was really energetic and they're great live.

I pity the man mopping the stage after the show. The drummer is putting the Niagara Falls to shame.

I'll be interviewing these guys soon for a piece that will be either in Paste Magazine or on the Paste website. Will link it when it's up.

In the event these guys come off as too serious:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/articl...t-list-battles

Fun read.

I liked Lynx. I've heard some of Tyondai's stuff in other contexts and liked it.

I loved Don Cab -- well, I loved the idea of Don Cab, and I loved some of their stuff a lot. They were always a good show. I have a decent tape I made in '99 or so that I really need to format and upload to Dime. (I even saw the ressurected DC with Damon Che when they made their first Atlanta appearance a couple years ago. Not good.)

I hated Storm and Stress. Hated. Saw them twice. Never listened to them on record. I'll give them a chance sometime.

I love this album like a mother loves a child, it's such an incredible piece of work. It kinda ditches some of the pretention of the EP (god help me in trying to remember its name) and instead sets about creating these incredible pieces of layered music. Rush In and Tijj are both mainstays on my MP3 player at the moment. Although I can see where people (ie my friends) are getting the 'sounds like Akira' stuff from.

A very short Youtube clip from last night's show -- I really wish I knew my little digicam would get decent sound, because I would have shot a lot more video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VMcpS5GduKI

And a handful of photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/russ.fischer/Battles

A friend of mine recorded me some Battles EP tracks last year and I was impressed with what I heard, but didn't give it my full attention. When "Atlas" circulated its way over to me, I was enticed by its tripped out catchiness and rhythmic precision. Still, even as a fan of a lot of prog, post-rock, and avant garde, it took about 10 listens to Mirrored in its entirety before I completely opened up to what these guys are doing. Similarly, it took a lot of patience for me to dig on some of Don Cab's stuff a few years ago (I prefer Battles over that band, though). But I'm so glad that I stuck it out with Mirrored. Long-time followers and newcomers alike are split on this album, but I'm completely sold on it. It's one of my favorite new albums of 2007 for sure. Mirrored has received some "the future of music" buzz and, while I've never been able to support such a statement in regards to anybody's music, it's great that so many people are getting off on something so freaked out and original for a change.

I don't know if it's because I'm late to the party seeing Battles live, but the Atlanta show this past Friday night fuckin' blew me away. I have such a deep appreciation for new and different sounds that finding an act that can both challenge my ears and entertain me is a gift. I have a feeling that these guys never fail to rock asses off live, but I'm just glad that I was able to see them do their thing so up close in a tiny club. Come to think of it, The Drunken Unicorn is the tiniest club I've ever seen a show in. Anyway, they were nothing short of amazing. What a remarkably fun band to watch too. I hope that Stanier enjoys tearing that drumkit apart as much as I liked watching him do it. But I'm going to need to wake up and invest in some friggin' earplugs before I walk into that level of LOUDNESS again. My ears were ringing like nobody's business for hours after the show.

Russ, any stand-outs for you out of what they played? Good seeing you there, by the way.

Good to see you there, too.

I'm hesitant to call standouts, because I was right up against the stage, with the PA above and a little behind my head, which made for a middling sound mix. (Anything with vocals or extra noises from Tyondai probably sounded a lot better 20 feet back from where I was.)

That said, SZ2 was great, as was Race:In -- it was killer to stand three feet from Stanier while he was bent over playing the snare rim for that track. Tonto and Leyendecker were solid, too.

I also got to see Dave really well, which I couldn't when they were there last time. Lot of fun to watch him. He cracked up a little when he saw me taking that photo of him standing there with Tyondai's cable, waiting for him to plug back in.

Drunken Unicorn is kind of a hidden gem. Relatively good size acts end up playing there, and as long as you're there for at least one opener, you can get right up to the stage to see what's happening. And my complaints about the mix aside, it generally sounds good in there, too.

Also speaking of great artists in tiny venues, I saw that Ted Leo is doing a show at Whirlyball in the next couple months. It's expensive ($23) but you'll probably never see him play a venue so small any time soon.

Cool... I knew the return show was coming up, but didn't plan on going. I was seeing some decent comedy that night, anyway. Would you say the show was very/any different from the last one, Russ?

Not significantly. A few of the Mirrored tracks were different -- tighter in places, looser in others. Obviously they're more comfortable with the stuff after a few months on the road.

And the crowd was bigger. From about 1/3 of the set until the end, the applause after each song was monstrous.

Russ, we were up against the stage on the opposite end just under Ian (who was a walking pool of sweat by the end). True, being further back would probably even the sound out more, but I was so into it that I couldn't give up my spot.

I went to buy a shirt at the end and initially asked Dave Konopka for one that was a bright maroonish color, but he said something like "Ah, that's a girl's shirt. You don't want that." So I left with a chuckle, the CD, and a green t-shirt in my hands.

Ahh, but I did miss out on tshirts this time. Curses. Anything awesome?

They were selling two different designs at the tables - each was pretty basic but there were a variety of colors to chose from for each. But band t-shirts that keep things simple are usually the best kind, in my opinion. As opposed to this kind of noise, for example:

I didn't actually go back to the table. From the stage area, however, I did notice the tote bag with 'I have BATTLES in my life' emblazoned on it. Almost bought some early Xmas gifts because of that...

Ha, cool. Okay, I saw a shirt that said that on the web. Pretty cool slogan.

I can't stop listening to "Tonto". They do a smokin' version of it live too.

Little piece I did for Paste is up:

https://www.pastemagazine.com/action...e_week_battles

A friend of mine told me he found them to have a certain Zappa air about some tracks, and that's the best kind of endorsement I could hear.

Haven't heard them yet, but this thread has further encouraged me to.

Nice little write-up. Before reading it, I thought that Tyondai was, for the most part, actually using lyricless vocals. But I don't need to know what he's really saying. It's better that way.

Seen this yet? Pretty nice.

http://www.last.fm/music/Battles/+videos/Tonto


Also, some "Atlas" lyrics. Blacked 'em out in case you don't want to know. I stumbled upon them accidentally, but screw it...

Scroll=> PEOPLE WONT BE PEOPLE WHEN THEY HEAR THIS SOUND
THAT'S BEEN GLOWING IN THE DARK AT THE EDGE OF TOWN
PEOPLE WONT BE PEOPLE, NO
THE PEOPLE WONT BE PEOPLE WHEN THEY HEAR THIS SOUND
WONT YOU SHOW ME WHAT BEGINS AT THE EDGE OF TOWN

THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE KITCHEN IS THE COOK
THE SCISSORS ARE THE BARBERS
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE CHORUS, FULL OF ACTORS

*THE CHORUS DOESN'T MATTER (LAST VERSE) <=End