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Dayvan Cowboy · 09-04-2010, 06:47 PM

#2: Battles: Mirrored

I'm the most predictable person on the planet, aren't I? This is one of the albums that saved me from being an Interpol/Hot Hot Heat fan like my ma, and helped me make the complete transition from Indie Pop kid to somebody with respectable musical tastes. I'll admit that I only know about this band because I liked the mesmerizing mirrored album cover with all of their gear being packed into that one glass reflective cube. It took me at least ten listens to actually like this album, mainly because my ears were unadjusted to such odd noises, such amounts of whistling, and that much vocal manipulation. When I finally "got" the album, MUSICAL EPIPHANY! NOT ALL ROCK HAS TO BE BLAND AND INDIE! It literally turned my world upside down, and opened up so many new doors of structureless, avant-rock explosions.

The album opens up with the schizophrenic, Disney-put-through-a-paper-shredder jam titled Race: In, which starts off in a storm of rim shots made by the legendary John Stanier, Formerly of the metal band Helmet. A few seconds in, a guitar is added, and the glistening, futuristic atmosphere of the album is laid down, and suddenly, a whistling sound appears, and more guitars are added. Layers of guitar and keyboards start to build up, and the tension rises, and soon, glittering layers of guitar are introduced, producing a crystalline melody, and then it slows down a bit, and makes way for Tyondai's uber-processed vocals, which are used as an instrument mostly on the album. Near the end of the song, before it cascades into chipmunk territory, the vocals become more inhuman, and are turned up a bit, and with guitars and keyboards to boost up the song, Ty's vocals fly into the aforementioned chipmunk territory, making way for the controversial single that made them famous, Atlas. Atlas opens with an ultra-danceable drumbeat, that suddenly make way for the odd, jerky riffs of Ex-Caballero guitarist Ian Williams, that allow the song to take an unexpected turn, back into the chipmunk-on-helium territory, with odd, shamanic lines belted out by the quasi-singer, creating an infectious groove that begs to be danced to. After all of that nuttiness, the song disintegrates into repetitive loops that serve as the ending to the songs. The next track, DdiamonddD, Is the fastest, heaviest track on the album, with illegible lyrics crying out poetry about corner counting being impossible due to mirrors and something about a diamond. With tons of whistling, and repetition, this two minute-thirty second track could go on for ten minutes and I wouldn't care at all, due to the sheer catchy, mathy fun of the song. The other, less controversial single of the album, Tonto is a guitar oriented song that filled with good old Battles minimalism and Ty's signature shamanic, alien vocals that define the shiny, complex and demented aesthetic of Battles. The song even shows a possibly asian influence, that makes up the foundation of the song. I have never heard a guitar oriented song that was this interesting and worth listening to. The next track, Leyendecker begins with a punchy drum beat, and suddenly turns R'n'B circa 3000 AD. Rainbow, the longest track on the album, clocking in at around eight minutes, is a proggy, quirky explosion, that builds up so beautifully, and has some of the best melodies I've ever heard in the second quarter of the song, that just shows off the bands songwriting skills, and makes it danceable at points. The buildingup part of the song is filled with wacky keyboard sounds, frantic drums and tense guitars. Once the song does it's build-up, it explodes with Braxton's dragged out vocals, belting out the phrase "ONCE, ONE TIME, IIIIIIIIII WAS AMAAAAAZED!", and that part, is so sincere and is easily the most emotive part of such a soulless, relentless album. Bad Trails, the most atmospheric song on the album, is filled with beautiful vocals, and demented electronic sounds, along with chirpy birds and shimmery, deep guitars. Prismism is a 50-second transition song that gets you ready for the next part of the album, which is the most relentless part. The next part of the album starts off with the happy, sunshine filled Snare Hangar, which is filled with cut up, wordless vocals and undeniably happy, oblivious keyboards. Unfortunately, the happiness doesn't last for long, because soon, the most beastly, carnivorous track comes on. Tij. Tij is my favourite off of the album, with washing machine loops, Tyondai's asthmatic breathing sounds, and a bit of shamanic, epic vocals. This song is sheer nuttiness at it's best, and if you've ever seen the video of them playing it live, it's absolutely nuts, with Braxton dancing his arse off, and Ian whipping his guitar around like a weapon. In the recorded version, the ending is just epic. You've got the main loop being played at different patterns, you've got guitar effects, and the infamous breathing loop being de-constructed and damaged until it's only a shell of what it used to be. Tij is an epic dance track, in my eyes, filled with repetitive chaos and the like. The album closes on a calmer note with a revisit to the beginning track called Race: Out. IT begins with a bassy opening, that sounds like it could have come from an orchestra. And the, Stanier starts drumming frantically, making way for the repetitive guitar and nervous keyboard sounds. The song fades out, leaving nothing behind, but memories of this truly awesome album.

09-04-2010, 06:47 PM	#206 (permalink)
Dayvan Cowboy Basscadet Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Antarctica Posts: 1,258	#2: Battles: Mirrored I'm the most predictable person on the planet, aren't I? This is one of the albums that saved me from being an Interpol/Hot Hot Heat fan like my ma, and helped me make the complete transition from Indie Pop kid to somebody with respectable musical tastes. I'll admit that I only know about this band because I liked the mesmerizing mirrored album cover with all of their gear being packed into that one glass reflective cube. It took me at least ten listens to actually like this album, mainly because my ears were unadjusted to such odd noises, such amounts of whistling, and that much vocal manipulation. When I finally "got" the album, MUSICAL EPIPHANY! NOT ALL ROCK HAS TO BE BLAND AND INDIE! It literally turned my world upside down, and opened up so many new doors of structureless, avant-rock explosions. The album opens up with the schizophrenic, Disney-put-through-a-paper-shredder jam titled Race: In, which starts off in a storm of rim shots made by the legendary John Stanier, Formerly of the metal band Helmet. A few seconds in, a guitar is added, and the glistening, futuristic atmosphere of the album is laid down, and suddenly, a whistling sound appears, and more guitars are added. Layers of guitar and keyboards start to build up, and the tension rises, and soon, glittering layers of guitar are introduced, producing a crystalline melody, and then it slows down a bit, and makes way for Tyondai's uber-processed vocals, which are used as an instrument mostly on the album. Near the end of the song, before it cascades into chipmunk territory, the vocals become more inhuman, and are turned up a bit, and with guitars and keyboards to boost up the song, Ty's vocals fly into the aforementioned chipmunk territory, making way for the controversial single that made them famous, Atlas. Atlas opens with an ultra-danceable drumbeat, that suddenly make way for the odd, jerky riffs of Ex-Caballero guitarist Ian Williams, that allow the song to take an unexpected turn, back into the chipmunk-on-helium territory, with odd, shamanic lines belted out by the quasi-singer, creating an infectious groove that begs to be danced to. After all of that nuttiness, the song disintegrates into repetitive loops that serve as the ending to the songs. The next track, DdiamonddD, Is the fastest, heaviest track on the album, with illegible lyrics crying out poetry about corner counting being impossible due to mirrors and something about a diamond. With tons of whistling, and repetition, this two minute-thirty second track could go on for ten minutes and I wouldn't care at all, due to the sheer catchy, mathy fun of the song. The other, less controversial single of the album, Tonto is a guitar oriented song that filled with good old Battles minimalism and Ty's signature shamanic, alien vocals that define the shiny, complex and demented aesthetic of Battles. The song even shows a possibly asian influence, that makes up the foundation of the song. I have never heard a guitar oriented song that was this interesting and worth listening to. The next track, Leyendecker begins with a punchy drum beat, and suddenly turns R'n'B circa 3000 AD. Rainbow, the longest track on the album, clocking in at around eight minutes, is a proggy, quirky explosion, that builds up so beautifully, and has some of the best melodies I've ever heard in the second quarter of the song, that just shows off the bands songwriting skills, and makes it danceable at points. The buildingup part of the song is filled with wacky keyboard sounds, frantic drums and tense guitars. Once the song does it's build-up, it explodes with Braxton's dragged out vocals, belting out the phrase "ONCE, ONE TIME, IIIIIIIIII WAS AMAAAAAZED!", and that part, is so sincere and is easily the most emotive part of such a soulless, relentless album. Bad Trails, the most atmospheric song on the album, is filled with beautiful vocals, and demented electronic sounds, along with chirpy birds and shimmery, deep guitars. Prismism is a 50-second transition song that gets you ready for the next part of the album, which is the most relentless part. The next part of the album starts off with the happy, sunshine filled Snare Hangar, which is filled with cut up, wordless vocals and undeniably happy, oblivious keyboards. Unfortunately, the happiness doesn't last for long, because soon, the most beastly, carnivorous track comes on. Tij. Tij is my favourite off of the album, with washing machine loops, Tyondai's asthmatic breathing sounds, and a bit of shamanic, epic vocals. This song is sheer nuttiness at it's best, and if you've ever seen the video of them playing it live, it's absolutely nuts, with Braxton dancing his arse off, and Ian whipping his guitar around like a weapon. In the recorded version, the ending is just epic. You've got the main loop being played at different patterns, you've got guitar effects, and the infamous breathing loop being de-constructed and damaged until it's only a shell of what it used to be. Tij is an epic dance track, in my eyes, filled with repetitive chaos and the like. The album closes on a calmer note with a revisit to the beginning track called Race: Out. IT begins with a bassy opening, that sounds like it could have come from an orchestra. And the, Stanier starts drumming frantically, making way for the repetitive guitar and nervous keyboard sounds. The song fades out, leaving nothing behind, but memories of this truly awesome album.