Rolling Stone reporters are soaking up the music in rural Tennessee this weekend. Kevin O’Donnell has this to say about Battles, a band I’ve never heard of until now.
Battles were a solid choice to perform on the first night of the fest. The New York-based four-piece — fronted by Tyondai Braxton, the son of jazz musician Anthony Braxton — turned out a killer hour long set of tricked-out, prog-rock grooves, which ranged from avant-garde electro-jazz to freaked-out space funk. The clear highlight of the group’s set was “Atlas,” a fantastic piece of robo-rock that mixes Daft Punk-style electro-grooves with industrial atmospherics.
Here’s a video that helps introduce the band:
[MP3] “Race In” by Battles