llmp
07/05/08, 10:48 PM
Battles - Mirrored
Record Label: Warp Records
Release Date: May 22, 2007 (US)
There are a lot of bands out there that try to do something original; some of them even succeed. But it does absolutely no good for a band to be “different” if their music does not remain enjoyable. An obvious statement, sure, but this does not seem to be common knowledge for a lot of bands out there. This is why if someone were to make an attempt to describe to me what Battles sounded like, I would most likely nod enthusiastically and promptly forget the name of the band. What's more, the band seems to enjoy giving the middle finger to anyone who would try to sum them up in a few words. This makes my job fairly difficult, but I'd rather struggle to review a great band than churn out one for Average Band #252.
For the majority of the Mirrored's 50-minute runtime, the band relies solely on their instruments. However, they are not shy about employing the use of vocals whenever they feel it is necessary to do so. What do the vocals sound like? Well, remember what I said about the whole middle finger thing? Yeah, that definitely applies here. From song-to-song the vocals are rarely the same; more often than not, they are simply unintelligible grunts or various other sounds made with the mouth, and other times it will be comparably normal singing. Most notable, however, are the high-pitched almost chipmunk-like singing interspersed throughout, and to my complete surprise, it works. I'd like to point out this is coming from someone who often can not stand any sort of high-pitched vocals. Give me the raw, gravelly-voiced Hot Water Music vocals any day of the week, but those simply would not work in this instance, so chipmunk vocals it is.
Musically, the band changes thing up even more, not only from song-to-song, but often from beginning-to-end of a single song. This is important, as half of the songs are over five minutes long and need to remain fresh throughout. This is all the more apparent because of the only song on this album I can say with certainty I dislike, "Bad Trails," does absolutely nothing to remain interesting. In fact, I've had Mirrored for some time now and had to force myself to listen to it just to make sure I had forgotten just how boring it is. While portions of other songs are very hit or miss, they change up enough so the listener is never stuck with a "miss" for too long. In the end, I feel this is what keeps Battles from becoming just another technical band only enjoyed by math rock enthusiasts.
It bears mentioning that on initial listen of this album I only came away liking the seven minute single "Atlas." It is without a doubt their most accessible song and for a while, it was the only thing on Mirrored I listened to, along with the relatively short following song "Ddiamondd." The rest of the longer songs require a lot of patience and time for them to pay off. It is for that reason, it was a month or two later when I finally discovered the second half of the album, besides the aforementioned "Bad Trails," is actually as strong as the first. That said, Mirrored is not the easiest album to sit and listen to all the way through. Not to say it becomes boring; in fact, quite the opposite is true. It can be just a little overwhelming, much like when a movie becomes one long action scene. I find I enjoy the album the most while listening to it in separate parts.
Mirrored is an album that is hard to judge without putting a lot of time into it. Sadly enough, if it weren’t for “Atlas” I probably would have never given Battles the chance they deserved. Since they are not all the accessible, it was initially surprising to me that they have become somewhat popular. But, after putting some thought into it, I decided if the majority of people who enjoy music past the sugary-sweet songs found on the radio were to sit down and really listen to this album they would come away liking at least some aspect of it. So really, the popularity of this band is not all that surprising. I’d recommend giving a listen to “Atlas” to anyone, and if they found that to be enjoyable then definitely give the rest of the album a chance.
listening to something different, technical music
myspace.com/battlestheband (http://www.myspace.com/battlestheband)
Record Label: Warp Records
Release Date: May 22, 2007 (US)
There are a lot of bands out there that try to do something original; some of them even succeed. But it does absolutely no good for a band to be “different” if their music does not remain enjoyable. An obvious statement, sure, but this does not seem to be common knowledge for a lot of bands out there. This is why if someone were to make an attempt to describe to me what Battles sounded like, I would most likely nod enthusiastically and promptly forget the name of the band. What's more, the band seems to enjoy giving the middle finger to anyone who would try to sum them up in a few words. This makes my job fairly difficult, but I'd rather struggle to review a great band than churn out one for Average Band #252.
For the majority of the Mirrored's 50-minute runtime, the band relies solely on their instruments. However, they are not shy about employing the use of vocals whenever they feel it is necessary to do so. What do the vocals sound like? Well, remember what I said about the whole middle finger thing? Yeah, that definitely applies here. From song-to-song the vocals are rarely the same; more often than not, they are simply unintelligible grunts or various other sounds made with the mouth, and other times it will be comparably normal singing. Most notable, however, are the high-pitched almost chipmunk-like singing interspersed throughout, and to my complete surprise, it works. I'd like to point out this is coming from someone who often can not stand any sort of high-pitched vocals. Give me the raw, gravelly-voiced Hot Water Music vocals any day of the week, but those simply would not work in this instance, so chipmunk vocals it is.
Musically, the band changes thing up even more, not only from song-to-song, but often from beginning-to-end of a single song. This is important, as half of the songs are over five minutes long and need to remain fresh throughout. This is all the more apparent because of the only song on this album I can say with certainty I dislike, "Bad Trails," does absolutely nothing to remain interesting. In fact, I've had Mirrored for some time now and had to force myself to listen to it just to make sure I had forgotten just how boring it is. While portions of other songs are very hit or miss, they change up enough so the listener is never stuck with a "miss" for too long. In the end, I feel this is what keeps Battles from becoming just another technical band only enjoyed by math rock enthusiasts.
It bears mentioning that on initial listen of this album I only came away liking the seven minute single "Atlas." It is without a doubt their most accessible song and for a while, it was the only thing on Mirrored I listened to, along with the relatively short following song "Ddiamondd." The rest of the longer songs require a lot of patience and time for them to pay off. It is for that reason, it was a month or two later when I finally discovered the second half of the album, besides the aforementioned "Bad Trails," is actually as strong as the first. That said, Mirrored is not the easiest album to sit and listen to all the way through. Not to say it becomes boring; in fact, quite the opposite is true. It can be just a little overwhelming, much like when a movie becomes one long action scene. I find I enjoy the album the most while listening to it in separate parts.
Mirrored is an album that is hard to judge without putting a lot of time into it. Sadly enough, if it weren’t for “Atlas” I probably would have never given Battles the chance they deserved. Since they are not all the accessible, it was initially surprising to me that they have become somewhat popular. But, after putting some thought into it, I decided if the majority of people who enjoy music past the sugary-sweet songs found on the radio were to sit down and really listen to this album they would come away liking at least some aspect of it. So really, the popularity of this band is not all that surprising. I’d recommend giving a listen to “Atlas” to anyone, and if they found that to be enjoyable then definitely give the rest of the album a chance.
listening to something different, technical music
myspace.com/battlestheband (http://www.myspace.com/battlestheband)