BATTLES
Mirrored
Warp
· Eleven études in polyrhythmic math rock.
Battles is an instrumentalist squadron formed by John Stanier, drummer for the defunct heavy-rock quartet Helmet, Ian Williams, guitarist from the left-brained music makers Don Cabellaro, Tyondai Braxton, vocalist who recently worked with Warp companion Prefuse 73, and Dave Konopka, guitar and bass player. On Mirrored, the quartet is treading a narrow edge between frenetic experimental rock and numbingly complex calliopes, although the emphasis rarely shifts away from the speedy percussion.
The leading tracks, "Race : In" and "Atlas," have short keyboard lines and guitar licks looped in such a way that they evoke a combination of Berlin-tinged tech house with Philip Glass’s One Thousand Airplanes on the Roof. Conversely, the album closes with "Race : Out," which builds on sounds one would generally associate with Nintendo enthusiast bands like The Advantage.
Mirrored is at its most reflective on the musically fascinating "Tonto," where, incidentally, Stanier’s drums are sparsest. Vivid snippets of originality are peppered throughout the album, but Battles could benefit a great deal from exploring negative spaces, or well-timed silences, instead of issuing an unrelenting audio assault.
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