|
|
 |
If modern day indie music appears to consist of an endless queue of groups that are either bland emo retreads or glitzy disco punkers, it is then that much more refreshing to encounter a band like Battles. With a lineage that consists of some ... Full Descriptionof indie rock's most accomplished musicians, Battles is a veritable neo-prog supergroup, though one that embraces the possibilities of technology used in tandem with instrumental virtuosity.
MIRRORED, the band's debut full-length makes its intent clear from the onset--to ingest 50 years of rock history and regurgitate it as fractilized micro-symphonies. Rhythms bounce whimsically from motorik krautrock beats to glammed up T. Rex shuffles; such stop-on-a-dime surprises seem to be offered up at every turn. Tyondai Braxton's bizarre vocal gibberish--pitched up and looped in real-time--recalls similar experiments by the Animal Collective, while simple, repetitive note progressions give way to full-on guitar bombast (courtesy of Don Caballero's Ian Williams). But the Battles-plan cannot be reduced to mere quiet verse/loud chorus formula. Featuring a generous dose of improvisatory interplay, MIRRORED is tightrope-walking post-rock with a technology-driven edge.
Battles (New York): Tyondai Braxton, Ian Williams (guitar); Dave Konopka (bass guitar); John Stanier (drums).Rolling Stone (p.72) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "This New York quartet gives ancient prog-rock moves a makeover -- and a kick in the pants."
Spin (p.90) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "For rock that's both fist-pumping and forward-looking, this album suggests that Battles have few peers."
Alternative Press (p.151) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "Battles have minimized the ambient filler and added some bizarre processed vocalizing and increased electronic counterpoint to their already bafflingly contrapuntal, loop-heavy attack..."
Magnet (p.90) - "They stretch their instrumental prowess wherever their textural whims take them, often by trapping melodies inside an intricate instrumental web where rhythmic shifts signify the verses."
The Wire (p.47) - "This time Battles sound like they're actually having fun, relishing the opportunity to stretch out over the length of an album and sounding an awful lot like King Sunny Ade interpreting early 70s Yes..."
The Wire (p.37) - Ranked #9 in The Wire's "Top Ten Records of the Year 2007" -- "On-a-dime virtuosity combined with sever compression, to claustrophobic but exhilarating effect."
Vibe (p.70) - "MIRRORED is propulsive and ragged, matching Teutonic firmness with drunken collapse." Hide Description Mirrored Music | List Price | $15.98 (You save $3.73) | | Category | Rock/Pop Albums, Rock CDs, Post Rock | | Label | Warp | | Orig Year | 2007 | | All Time Sales Rank |  6202  | | CD Universe Part number | 7416847 | | Catalog number | 156 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | May 22, 2007 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Producer | Battles | | Engineer | Mike Viele; Seth Manchester | | Recording Time | 51 minutes |
Purchase Mirrored CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Yo La Tengo I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass CD (2006)
Mirrored album
 $10.05  
With 2006's cheekily titled I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU AND I WILL BEAT YOUR ASS, the beloved indie-rock trio Yo La Tengo presents a dynamic set of songs that echo the band's past, while notably downplaying the soporific atmospherics of preceding discs (the lauded AND THEN NOTHING and SUMMER SUN). The New Jersey-based group opens with "Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind," a feedback-drenched guitar workout anchored by pulsing, insistent rhythms, which is followed by the jaunty "Beanbag Chair," a charming pop ditty that percolates under Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley's breezy vocals. Other highlights of this eclectic record include the ...
| | TV On The Radio Return To Cookie Mountain CD (2006)
Mirrored CD music
$8.15  
On its 2006 album, RETURN TO COOKIE MOUNTAIN, the Brooklyn-based post-punk group TV on the Radio manages that rare feat of becoming more adventurous and accessible at the same time. While this record isn't a major departure from its eclectic predecessor (the lauded DESPERATE YOUTH, BLOODY THIRSTY BABES), it is notably more cohesive, and even boasts a guest appearance by David Bowie, who slinks into backing vocals on the R&B-tinged "Province." By combining unpolished loops and stuttering beats with shoegazing guitar textures, ...
| | Lcd Soundsystem Sound Of Silver CD (2007)
Mirrored music CDs
$9.55
As wryly noted on LCD Soundsystem's debut 2002 single, "Losing My Edge," in the underground music arms race, aging hipsters are losing ground against young upstarts who are (perhaps) unaware of their own influences. And if influences are the stuff with which post-millennial musicians are made, Murphy has trumped us all. Touching on reference points ranging from disco, krautrock, Bowie, house, and post-punk, to singer-songwriter types, SOUND OF SILVER is a veritable catalog of left-field cool. Leading off with the slow-boil, hypnotic opener, "Get Innocuous"--which sounds a bit like a reprise of "Losing My Edge" crossed with Kraftwerk's "The Robots"--the album moves from dance-floor stormers to plaintive piano numbers without batting an eye. On "North American Scum," Murphy lampoons the often mistaken idea that LCD Soundsystem is a U.K. act; his nasal vocal echoing Jonathan Richman as he declares "for those of you who think we're from England--we're not." As humorously self-effacing as he is, SOUND OF SILVER also shows Murphy's growth as a songwriter. On the album's closer "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down," he laments the passing of the old New York, "To the cops who are bored once they've run out of crime/New York you're perfect don't change a thing." It's a fitting tribute that holds up against the countless other great songs written about the Big Apple.
James Murphy is well-known as half of the New York-based production duo DFA (who have lent their distinctive touch to songs from artists as diverse as ...
| | Panda Bear Person Pitch CD (2007)
Mirrored songs
$11.79 
On 2007's PERSONAL PITCH, Animal Collective's Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox) ambles out on his own once again with an album that includes a number of tracks from his 2005-07 singles and EPs. Influenced in part by married bliss, new fatherhood, and a move to Lisbon, Portugal, this bright, buoyant album was recorded largely with samplers, creating a highly textured sound that cements Lennox's status as the Brian Wilson of the freak-folk set. (In fact, his vocal similarities to Wilson are remarkable, as evinced on the percussive opener "Comfy ...
| | Field From Here We Go Sublime CD (2007) (Import) Germany
Mirrored album
$15.09
On 2007's FROM HERE WE GO SUBLIME, Axel Willner's first full-length Kompakt outing under the moniker of the Field, the Swedish electronica artist presents a mesmerizing set of minimalist techno that garnered international raves. ...
| | Animal Collective Strawberry Jam CD (2007)
Mirrored CD music
$13.19 
While the band was never really folk, STRAWBERRY JAM finds them severing themselves entirely from any freak-folk allegiances, as almost all the more acoustic elements of earlier records have been replaced with noise bursts, electronic blips and loops, keyboard swells, and even electric guitar muscle. Their earlier records were hardly naïve, but STRAWBERRY JAM reveals a band maturing in identity so confidently in their collective magic that they can offer what seems like a standard pop melody ("Peacebone," the ecstatic "For Reverend Green") and embrace an overall slicker approach, yet still have an air of revelation about them. STRAWBERRY JAM is more accessible to listeners outside the collective than previous efforts, but if more structure is the price for growing older and more commercially viable, Animal Collective have figured out how to succeed completely on their own terms.
With ...
| | Stevie Wonder My Cherie Amour CD (1969)
Mirrored music CDs
$6.85
Pack a picnic, grab your sweetie, ...
| | Love As Laughter Greks Bring Gifts CD (1995)
Mirrored songs
$12.49
| | Dj Food Refried Food CDs (1996)
Mirrored album
$13.09
| | Jerry's Kids Is This My World? CD (2002)
Mirrored CD music
$11.95
| | Various Artists Trippin' In The 60'S CD (1998)
Mirrored music CDs
$12.05
Track Listing of songs: Life's a Misery - The ...
| | Peter Fenton In The Lovers Arms CD (2004) (Import) Australia
Mirrored songs
$27.59
| | Mahones Take No Prisoners CD (2006)
Mirrored album
$13.65
| | Foreigner 4 CD (2007) (Import) Bonus Tracks; Japan; Limited Edition; Mini LP Sleeve
Mirrored CD music
$35.49
| | Area Maledetti CD (2007) (Import)
Mirrored music CDs
$42.05
|
|
Mirrored Music Review Average Rating: (3.3 out of 5 stars)   Finally...
Finally it's here...I saw these guys in Gainesville almost 2 years ago and they blew me away. I bought the single, the only album they had at the merch table, at the concert and was impressed but it seemed a little too freeform for my taste, but this album pulls it all together...aurally pleasing with many complex rythms, sounds, and cadences.
Submitted by orangejellol (Tampa, Fl.) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Mixed verdic.
Evolution is the mark of true musicianship...generally, that is. In the case of Mirrored, this change in sound is met with some reservations. My biggest complaint is the strange vocals overdubs, and yet at the same time it does add an interesting element to the mix. By and large, I would prefer to have much of it left out. Also, to mix it up, I would have liked to see a few more experimental rock oriented songs.
Submitted by tubesteaknyouri (Fort wayne, IN)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Interesting but so... strange!
Interesting in terms of sound & ambience (you feel like a pretty girl in a horor movie from the 80's) but also so strange in terms of melody...
Submitted by melis.sebastien (Thionville, France)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No | Have you heard this album? |  |
|
|
|
|
|
buttons below to play song samples
Windows Media
Real Audio
Adobe Flash
