The Music Mastermind

Strangely, a lot of people have never heard of the New York based quintet Battles. Mixing electronic sounds with driving rock beats, the band has created a sound never designed before. This mysterious group features a collection of rock veterans, including ex-Lynx guitarist Dave Konopka, and ex-Helmet drummer John Stainier. Battles has become known by the technical performance followers as a band that performs guitar with one hand and keyboards with the other.

Mirrored was definitely one of the most refreshing albums of the year for me. I was absolutely flabbergasted when I was exposed to this intriguing band. Quite frankly, I was most dumbfounded that I had never heard of them before. Much to my surprise, their album was already released and they were slowly beginning to pick up independent steam. Now, months later, they have earned themselves Plug Award nominations and a decent fanbase. Now let's just hope that they decide to tour the states in 2008.