MIRRORED

From the rapid-fire percussion that begins "Race: In", I knew this album would be a keeper. Throughout Mirrored, there are strange sounds, great reserves of talent, and enough drums and guitars to keep any math rock fan happy. Mirrored is simply an incredible album that manages to be fresh and unique but also engaging and accessible. Though labeled as math rock, most of the songs seem to be in 4/4; that's not to say that they don't use strange time signatures, just not as much as most math rock bands. Some tracks of note would be: Leyendecker, where the vocal effects work to their maximum potential; Bad Trails, which builds a very nice atmosphere and is more laid-back than most of the others on the album; Race: In, with heaps of sonic effects, incredible drumming, more awesome vocals, and loads of guitar; Atlas, a robotic, mechanical and almost comical song, and the lead single from the album (also appeared in LittleBigPlanet, exposing Battles to a large audience); and finally, Tonto, a simply incredible, possibly perfect song, showcasing everything Battles does right on the album, and truly a song for the ages. Mirrored as a whole, though not necessarily flawless, is engaging and enjoyable, recommended to anybody who likes good weird music.