Mirrored

Battles- Mirrored (2007)



This'll be the last album I post for a while. It's a cliche'd choice for this blog (which is named after the albums opening and closing tracks) but one of my favourite albums of all time. It takes a very engaging piece of music to hold your attention throughout an album without lyrics.

Battles are a band I feel are massively under rated, despite having quite a wide fan base, people tend to categorised them as either the experimental electronic-noise movement (like gang gang dance) or as really techy striped down mathrock. However the range of influences and directions this album takes is much wider, obviously there's a lot of sample use, loops and distortion from pedals its the hip hop rhythm parts, the funk like melodies, the intertwining influences clashing and yet seamlessly fitting into coherent songs.

My friend ash once described it as "textured music, it feels like you can walk in between every instrument, like you can touch them."They make music that's for me atleast, mind blowing. Its so beautiful, so perfect and yet so strange and unfamiliar at the same time. You can enjoy this album on a lot of levels I think that's why I like it so much. As always download it by clicking the title

God's Money

Gang Gang Dance- God's Money (2005)



Another post y2k album I love. Gang Gang's third attempt is pretty immense, I wasn't sure whether to pick this or Saint Dymphna (also amazing) but I think this album sounds more well rounded and coherent. Gang Gang make dark and experimental "noise" music, but on the other end of the scale to lightning bolt. Not the normal effects pedal laden "noise punk" band, but a really techy and refined approach to the same kind of dreamy sound. It's really precise and structured, the "noise" element is much more visceral and the album feels like its a dream, weaving in and out of strange sounds and distant echoes over a huge, constant beat from the rhythm section.

The percussion is really interesting. It reminds me of alot of the experimental afrobeats stuff with a kind of vague hip hop feel to the beats. The droning melodies and vocal samples are kind of similar to liars (Drum's not dead in particular), but i think Liz's vocals play out better, and the melodic work with the keys, flutes and samples has a lot more depth and a real surreal feel to it.

Click the album name to listen.

Big Scary Expansionism

So i've been hearing alot of rumours going around the "emo"/bromo community about a certain uk label trying to storm America. Turns out it's true, Kevin Douch (aka. big scary monsters) is signing bands, employing promoters, here's a link to what he said about it. He's also signed two of my favourite bands casavet and grown ups, both getting pretty big on the "scene".



I wish him all the best, but kind of worried he'll lose focus on the uk side of things, i mean already he's clearly struggling on his own to keep on top with distribution, even if all the promotion makes it seem like stuffs going fine. He owes me orders from 6 months ago I'm yet to chase up, I don't think I'd buy another physical release from him again. Also he failed to release the Pennines/ ttng split because he didn't have time, lazily putting it straight to itunes.



He's clearly a guy who loves the music and what he's doing, but jesus before starting up new shit Kev, stop going to America to watch the get up kids, stop posing for photos: CHECK YOUR FUCKING MAIL ORDERS AND SEND ME THAT (now kind of obsolete) FUCKING SPRING SAMPLER.