Battles

Battles emerged from a fairly simple question: What happens when math rock is enhanced by a heavy dose of electronics? The group began as a quartet in 2002, with guitarist Ian Williams (previously of Don Caballero and Storm & Stress), vocalist Tyondai Braxton, bassist Dave Konopka, and famed Helmet/Tomahawk/The Mark of Cain drummer John Stanier. The band released their debut EP C/B EP in 2006 on Warp Records, situating themselves as weirder and wilder than the rest of the indie rock groups putting Brooklyn on the map during this era. In 2007, they released Mirrored, an instant classic in art-rock circles thanks to hits like the rumbling "Atlas," with a vocal performance from Braxton that lent a playful element to the math-rock genre, and the near-chaos of “Ddiamondd.” Braxton left the group in 2010, and the band’s 2011 release, Gloss Drop, was highlighted by guest vocalists like Matias Aguayo on the experimental yet deliriously playful and poppy “Ice Cream.” Konopka left the group in 2018, turning Battles into a duo, though Williams and Stanier showed no signs of slowing down on 2019’s Juice B Crypts.