LA DI DA DI

What a pleasure to hear something new and original. As with all new music, it isn't as if this trio is doing something truly unique; they simply compose music with the tools they know and understand. No, what sets these three apart is their attitude-- that's what makes Battles so interesting and what makes this third studio issue so very listenable, even exciting. The band tends to end up in the 'Indie' category, which is fine, as Battles are wholly independent. They are real artists.

The sound of Chiptune is ever present, the band generating waveforms marbled through hard rock with complete abandonment of any established approach, metastasizing a mix that will hit on a particular style without any allegiance to it. Only nominally "Postrock", these guys don't care and you gotta love that. If it were the late '70s, Stanier, Williams and Konopka would probably be a punk group. Cosmic dust morphs into blurpie trance for 'The Yabba' with vintage subspace nebulas and textured guitar calliopes, and 'Dot Net' is high-end squeak & Skweee showcasing the bangin' traps of John Stanier.

A little Surf opens 'FF Bada' reminding now & then of Tortoise, 'Cacio E Pepe' is industrial, and 'Non-Violence' rocks. Battles create paintings in sound and require some space to do so. Like good cheese or wine, they have to come to room temperature and begin to breathe in order for the flavors to bloom and be fully appreciated. 'Dot Com' is John Carpenter meets Blondie, 'Tricentennial' has Ian Williams' delicious vibrating-iron guitars, Glitch of 'Megatouch', and adorable 'Luu Le' make for one incredible musical statement.

A band that will surely go down as one of the best of the Post era though their legend may take a few more years to solidify, and in the wake of Hip hop's possession of popular music, Battles are one of the most fresh and bold of this fascinating and marginalized time in rock. A masterpiece of progressive rock music? You better believe it.