2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't fight BATTLES, June 13, 2004
Battles is the latest project from guitarist Ian williams, most famously of Don Caballero, but also in the wonderful Storm And Stress. Fans of the last DC album and the Storm and Stress albums will like this one. Tyondai Braxton also lends his genius, add John stanier and David Konopka and you've got one of the most boss and original bands of a long time. This album is unlike anything I've heard, the songs seems to develop as they are composed, and then become entirly new compositions. Why should you buy this album? Because everything else sounds like everything else and this doesn't.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
good cd., June 12, 2004
I'm a fan of Ian's and John's other projects, and this album surpassed my expectations. It's a new sound, something I never could have imagined. John is perfect for this band, his beats make me turn into a wild and crazy animal. Ian does some real cool stuff looping keyboards and guitars. The other members who I'm unfamiliar with have impressive talent and come up with some real good sounding sound. The tracks are very elaborate and for an ep there is a whole lot of content. The cd is good. Buy it.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredibly Smart, June 18, 2004
By A Customer
Battles blends the genius of guitarist/keyboardist/samplist Ian Williams (Don Caballero, Storm & Stress), drummer John Stanier (Helmet, Tomahawk), guitarist Dave Konopka (Lynx) and Boston-based avant garde composer Tyondai Braxton (ironically the younger brother of pop/r&b singer Toni Braxton). Attempting to draw comparisons to other bands or even genres is pointless and quite frankly unnecessary, because EP C is a truly unique sounding album. The only other music that competes with Battles' abstractly intelligent musicianship and songwriting is Storm & Stress and the later-era Don Cab, both brainchilds of Ian Williams. Which says a lot about where EP C is coming from. But the four individual talents of the members of Battles, when confronted, tread sonic territory that Williams' former efforts have not. The songs add layer upon seamless layer of intricate guitar and keyboard lines (often heavily sampled), fractured rhythms, electronic noises, and sparsely-placed vocal samples, all held together with the tenacious and incredibly tight drumming of Stanier. The production of the album is nearly perfect.
If any point is to be made at all with this review, its that words and descriptions don't really do it justice, you just have to hear it for yourself. Everything about it is just mesmerizing.
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