2nd Round Moderns: Mirrord v. U Totem s/t

Battles just isn't my thing but I love U Totem, what an adventerous album.

Another toughie but Mirrored by a pubic hair.

micky wrote: giving it to the Battles album.. as some freethnkers have noted.. an album 40 years from now that will likely be looked upon as we all do ITCotCK.  An opening shot in a completely new direction of rock/progressive rock.

Mellotron Storm wrote: micky wrote: giving it to the Battles album.. as some freethnkers have noted.. an album 40 years from now that will likely be looked upon as we all do ITCotCK.  An opening shot in a completely new direction of rock/progressive rock. Spits out coffee

groundbreaking and genre-altering it has been... and so it will be seen.  Hard to see when the fans are thinking 40 years backwards.. not forwards...

from various albums reviews over the years...

'Mirrored (Warp, 2007) single-handedly reinvented post-rock for the 21st century. It appropriated dance rhythms, jazz improvisation and digital editing to craft erudite and intricate compositions that harked back to the Canterbury school of progressive-rock of the 1970s. '

'This is not just an album that can be appreciated by fans of the avant-garde, pop and rock alike but a genuine f**k you to the people claiming modern music has nowhere left to go. '

'It's official: in 2007, it's all come full circle. Prog rock has made its way into the indie scene..... constructed an album that combines the best of Van Der Graaf Generator, Magma, Krautrock, and math rock, while coming up with something that stands so far out on the fringe that it is in a league of its own'

'Battles may be the first band to really play with the way that 21st century software can extend and distend the sound of a rock band in real time........Battles may not be the world's first bionic rock group, but they've done more to extend the idea of a flesh-and-blood band enhanced by computer technology than anyone since the late, lamented Disco Inferno. Mirrored is a breathtaking aesthetic left-turn that sounds less like rock circa 2007 than rock circa 2097, a world where Marshall stacks and micro-processing go hand in hand.'

'Mirrored’ is the sort of album that the sharp rock kids will be citing as an inspiration.It’s a glimpse through a prism into a myriad of rock futures, and all of them look like a blast. '

'Battles' early work was distinctively math rock which is apparently something they decided they would shake off with "Mirrored", which shows the band drawing from basically everything. Prog, rock, pop, polka; if it exists I'm sure one of the members of Battles consumes it and adds it in some subtle way to the band's music.......one aspect of Mirrored that can't be disputed is that it is a unique album with little to no similar peers.'

'After a slew of EPs, their debut is a chugging beast, turning avant-garde noise on its head, throwing tribal rhythms, heavy metal riffs, indie-pop licks, and non-sensical vocals into a refreshing aural masterpiece.'

've been trying to write this review for weeks, rolling around on the floor of my house in a mindless fog, and the only purpose I can discern for writing WORDS about SOUNDS is that one or two unsuspecting music-lovers may discover THE BEST BAND ON EARTH TODAY.

Battles are an idea of a band, a bizzare dream that Steve Reich had one night after munching a bit too much Roquefort while watching Yes: Live From The House Of Blues. They are an unsolicited gift; a weird rupture in the fabric of everything. Music this experimental shouldn't be fun. Music this cool shouldn't be joyful. Music this weird should not be danceable. Music as unclassifiable, bafflingly complex and structural as this should not be so popular and inclusive.'

'Remember “shock and awe”? On their debut album, Battles bring that brutal, futuristic precision to the art-rock avant-garde. Featuring keyboardist/guitarist Ian Williams of math rockers Don Caballero and drummer John Stanier of post-hardcore virtuosos Helmet, this New York-based group layers sound manipulator Tyondai Braxton’s alien vocals over muscular, off-kilter grooves. Think Captain Beefheart, if he’d been a fan of kraut rock and Animal Collective — or, on the deep, martial drums of single “Atlas,” Marilyn Manson. For rock that’s both fist-pumping and forward-looking, this album suggests that Battles have few peers.'

zravkapt wrote: Another toughie but Mirrored by a pubic hair.

The prog one

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: Altairius wrote: The prog one I'm not sure which one you mean

Yeah, I'm confused. I thought neither were prog because they don't sound anything like Neil Morse.

Ha, I quoted myself.

love Battles

need to listen to U Totem

no vote yet

Battles