Battles
These people are collectively know as Battles – John Stainer, who used to drum for Helmet and Tomahawk, Ian Williams, who once played guitar for Don Caballero, Dave Konopka, who previously played guitar for Lynx, and Tyondai Braxton, whose vocal, keyboard and electronic talents can be found on work by the likes of Prefuse 73, and all kinds of avant jazz.
A supergroup of sorts, then. But one that manages to avoid all the pitfalls that usually plague such outfits (we’re looking at you, Audioslave) by actually creating something of huge artistic worth. Preferring to let the music do the talking (and yet still be a largely instrumental band), little is known about the math rock duo’s formative stages, other than that they released two EPs, ‘EPC’ and ‘EPB’, in 2006, which Warp records collated in the release ‘EPC/EPB’. The band this week release their debut album proper, the unimpeachable ‘Mirrored’.
BATTLES OFFICIAL + MYSPACE: Battles’ official site, www.bttls.com, links directly to their MySpace page – shame, as we seem to remember their attempt at a web presence actually being pretty good. Pictures of meadows and the like.
WARP RECORDS: Battles’ label’s characteristically tech-y webspace.
BLEEP DOT COM : Warp’s online digital store allows you to stream the whole of the new Battles album ‘Mirrored’, and then buy it, obviously.
ATLAS VIDEO: A tune so striking deserved a video equally brilliant. ‘Atlas’ gets one, here.
ATLAS REVIEWED: Chris Helsen goes understandably ape for the first single from ‘Mirrored’.
LIVE WITH ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: Caught at the Astoria in what might be one of the best double bills ever, at least six Rockfeedback writers were at this show in some capacity or other.
LIVE AT TRUCK 2006 : The band of the festival, without a shadow of a doubt.
LIVE AT ATP 2005: Battles played twice this day, as first on and last on. First we’d heard of ‘em too.
A WHOLE BATTLES GIG, 30/3/07, Empty Bottle, Chicago: