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EP C / B

Battles

Post Rock/Math rock


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Battles EP C / B album cover
2.64 | 9 ratings | 2 reviews | 0% 5 stars

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Boxset/Compilation, released in 2006

Songs / Tracks Listing

CD 1
1. SZ2 (9:19)
2. TRAS 3 (1:11)
3. IPT 2 (1:49)
4. BTTLS (12:27)
5. "DANCE (4:43)
6. TRAS (3:38)

CD 2
1. B+T (6:09)
2. UW (3:01)
3. HI/LO (7:51)
4. IPT-2 (1:34)
5. TRAS 2 (5:50)
6. FANTASY (9:09)

Line-up / Musicians

- Tyondai Braxton / guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Dave Konopka / bass,guitar, effects
- Ian Williams / guitar, keyboards
- John Stanier / drums

Thanks to chamberry for the addition
and to Geck0 for the last updates
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BATTLES EP C / B ratings distribution


2.64
(9 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(0%)
0%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(33%)
33%
Good, but non-essential (56%)
56%
Collectors/fans only (11%)
11%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

BATTLES EP C / B reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by russellk
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars In 2005 Warp records - blessed be the name - signed a relatively unknown New York band. BATTLES is comprised of former members of important, if obscure, avant-garde and math-rock bands. Almost an anti-supergroup, if you like. The first thing Warp did with their new signing is combine and reissue their two US-only EPs as a 66 minute album.

Those of you familiar with their much-lauded album 'Mirrored' might well take this review as a warning. Their first two EPs, collected here, don't sound much like their later work. Yes, the polyrhythms are in evidence, but there's a lot missing here. First and foremost, the tracks are nowhere near as multi-layered as those on 'Mirrored'. This is a new band of talented musicians trying to find their sound. The chattering guitars are there, as is the splendid drum work, but the music sounds naked. Added to this is the absence of TY BRAXTON's vocals. The net effect is an absence of the whimsical, playful and melodic elements of their 2007 release. C/B EP is cold.

For Warp aficionados, that's fine. Warp has long been at the forefront of experimental electronic music, and this stripped-back sound fits quite comfortably in their stable, albeit most of the artists on their roster don't use analogue instruments. But most people would not describe this as progressive rock. I would: my definition is rather broad, and this is definitely progressive (though not rock). It has to be said, however, that it's not actually very daring. There are twenty artists on the Warp roster making more cutting-edge music than this.

As for the music itself, the seven tracks over four minutes form the heart of the album, and each of them develops nicely. Some are standard DON CABALLERO fare, while others (Fantasy, for example) are typical glitch-beat numbers of the mid-career AUTECHRE variety. But electronica has moved on, and this EP is rather tame.

Highlights: 'B+T', 'HI-LO', 'SZ2' and 'DANCE'. But there's nothing here to touch anything on 'Mirrored'.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Battles' first album-length release is really a compilation of their two earliest EPs, which the band themselves say are really sketches of possible directions the band could go in. Consequently, it would be a bit much to expect this material to live up to the potential of a fully developed album - so relegating it to EPs was on the whole a good call - but at the same time the band do manage to create an intriguing listen, and if some of the tracks are duds, a few of the others are gems which do a great job of pointing the way to their first proper album, Mirrored.

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