Album: Mirrored
Rating: 4.5/5
Label: Warp Records
I guess, in retrospect, it’s about time somebody reinvented math rock. And who better to do it than a band whose members include someone who played a major role in inventing the genre in the first place.
Starting from revolutionary beginnings in Don Caballero, math rock was soon to be found in pretty much every basement or indie rock club this side of Halifax. Suddenly, it was the fun-loving, undepressed way for indie rockers to have a good time without slowing everything down to 30 beats per minute and singing lyrics wrapped in pretension and literary confusion. Math rock quickly became the populist indie rock: anyone could play it who wanted to (not everyone did), and it was pretty hard for those on the sidelines not to get into the sheer intensity of it all.
However, this is where things started to get a bit iffy. I once heard Jeremy Gara, formerly of the now-defunct Ottawa math band Weights and Measures and now of indie rock superstars/reinvention postter boys, remark that what held his side project together was the sheer intensity of each member when performing. While it was impossible not to marvel at this, math started to sound the same. As great as intensity was (and it really was refreshing in indie rock), it didn’t seem to make up for the other end of the music; the creativity side.
Thus did Battles become formed. Boasting a former member of Don Caballero, the band makes use of all the elements that made math what it is, but there is something clearly different going on here. The frame is still there, but there is something altogether original and evolutionary about Mirrored.
Here, the band makes use of keyboards on almost every song, and often trades in intensity for artistic creativity, without betraying the fundamental principles. Nevermind the fact that it makes for a less accessible listen.
This is something that those in math rock and beyond will be listening to, not to mention drawing influence from, for years to come.
Standout Tracks: 9, 3, 4, 5, 6. Now Playing on CHMA 106.9 FM.
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