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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Mirrored
by Battles
The unique New York four-piece math-rock outfit (that includes members of Helmet and Don Caballero) follows a string of three acclaimed 2004 EPs with this debut full-length, which adds (heavily processed) vocals into their mix of live and programmed instrumentation for the first time.
| LABEL: |
Warp |
| RELEASE DATE: |
22 May 2007 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Indie, Rock |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Playlouder
This is not just an album that can be appreciated by fans of the avant-garde, pop and rock alike but a genuine fuck you to the people claiming modern music has nowhere left to go.
100
Stylus Magazine
Battles unite process and expression, making playing that’s as quantized and mechanical as Kraftwerk sound as wild and urgent as Albert Ayler.
100
The Guardian
The way repeated listens allow its unobvious rhythmic and melodic logic to take root is fantastically rewarding.
91
Filter
They make heavy duty sound collages that rock, roll, and exemplify the increasingly small chasm between bliss and confusion. [#25, p.90]
91
Pitchfork
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.
90
Drowned In Sound
Whereas before in their career the four-piece seemingly tossed myriad elements about with little to no regard for the actual acceptability of the composition at hand, here each and every piece – pieces that truly do flow into one another quite magically – sinks into the listener’s synapses silkily, short-circuiting them through disbelief rather than a simmering intolerance.
90
Lost At Sea
If the Flaming Lips mated with Marilyn Manson and ate Underworld for breakfast, the end result might sound something like Battles' debut album, Mirrored.
90
Alternative Press
At times, the effect is akin to hearing Tortoise and Animal Collective covering the Steve Reich and Devo catalogs in tandem; but such reference points barely do justice to an album that just halfway through 2007, is already topping the year's best-of list in multiple genres. [Jun 2007, p.151]
90
Urb
Every song on the 52-minute masterpiece builds and bridges until everything self-destructs and the only thing left to do is dance. [May 2007, p.92]
90
Tiny Mix Tapes
Mirrored is a marvel, dastardly and wholly original as it is, and one of the year’s finest.
90
Almost Cool
It's dance music that's hard to dance to and post rock music that's post what everyone else making post rock is doing. Oh yeah, and it's also one of the best releases of the year.
90
No Ripcord
Powered by its fluid and seeming invincibility, Mirrored is almost frighteningly cosmic.
85
Prefix Magazine
The indie-rock universe hasn't coughed up a record as rhythmically thrilling as Mirrored in ages.
80
Under The Radar
Mirrored is a focused, exhausting, and rewarding treasure. [Summer 2007, p.78]
80
PopMatters
Even if you’re not much of a cerebral-rock person, take a chance with this one—it pays off.
80
Spin
Rock that's both fist-pumping and forward-looking. [Jun 2007, p.90]
80
Uncut
Worth catching. [Jun 2007, p.87]
80
Mojo
Mirrored explodes with twisting grooves and obtuse angles. [Jun 2007, p.102]
80
Blender
The outfit dispels any virtuoso vibe with their joyous absurdism. [Jun 2007, p.104]
80
BBC collective
While their sound might have progressed in an even more bizarre – if sadly less atmospheric – direction, it's still surprising, full of invention and totally unique.
80
New Musical Express
It's easy enough just to drift off and let these tracks gently massage your eardrums like a hover of trained hummingbirds. But if you choose to look beneath the surface, each track audibly vibrates with ideas.
80
All Music Guide
Mirrored is unlike any recording out there at the moment. It's loud, funny, and astonishingly sophisticated, and doesn't feel pretentious in the least.
80
Sputnikmusic
Some listeners may find the album samey or too similar but one aspect of Mirrored that can't be disputed is that it is a unique album with little to no similar peers.
80
cokemachineglow
Mirrored is Battles at their most experimental and their most immediate, their most wanky and most focused.
80
musicOMH.com
Where before they gave the distinct feel of a quick side-project for a bunch of talented musicians who were currently in other bands, on Mirrored it's clear that their hearts and souls are in every one of these songs.
75
The Onion (A.V. Club)
It works best when the songs sound in thrall to themselves, reacting in different ways while retracing steps, but it also fishtails into missteps ("Rainbow") that sound oddly like Mannheim Steamroller.
70
Dusted Magazine
There’s nothing here that’ll shock experimental music acolytes, but it might be a bit much for those expecting only brawny post-rock. Like Goldilocks, I find it just right.
70
Observer Music Monthly
Battles combine the power of hard rock with an experimental aesthetic.
70
Rolling Stone
Give Mirrored a handful of listens and you might just enjoy having your brains splattered against your speakers.
67
MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
Just when I'd made my peace with pop prog and begun to hope arty prog would prove another casualty of the age of digital instantaneity, these postrock warriors get the bright idea of adding tune and humor to their higher mathematics.
60
Slant Magazine
Elaborate time signatures and clever tape manipulations abound, and there's some fun trying to guess which instruments are synthesized and which are authentic, but Mirrored suffers from being too bright and spirited.
The average user rating for this album is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 148 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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