Mirrored (album)
Encyclopedia
Mirrored is the full-length debut album by American
experimental
band Battles
, released on May 14, 2007 in the United Kingdom
, and on May 22, 2007 in the United States
. This is the first time the band has incorporated vocals into their songs, as the previous EPs were completely instrumental (aside from beatboxing
on the tracks "Dance" and "Fantasy" and wordless vocals on "B + T", "IPT-2" and "BTTLS"). The first single from the album, "Atlas", was released in the UK on April 2, 2007, and has been used in the PlayStation 3
game LittleBigPlanet
, in the level "The Construction Site". It has also been used in the British television programmes Skins
, Top Gear and Torchwood
, as well as Honda
for their European Civic Type R
. Mirrored appeared on 2007 top album lists from several publications, including Time
, NME
, The Guardian
, and Pitchfork
.
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
score of 86, based on 31 reviews. The single "Atlas" was #42 on online music magazine
Pitchfork Media
's Top 500 tracks of the 2000s list. Pitchfork also placed Mirrored at number 105 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s. In October 2011, NME
placed "Atlas" at number 54 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
band Battles
Battles (band)
Battles is an American experimental rock group, founded in 2002 in New York City, comprising guitarists Ian Williams and Dave Konopka , and drummer John Stanier .-Biography:...
, released on May 14, 2007 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and on May 22, 2007 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. This is the first time the band has incorporated vocals into their songs, as the previous EPs were completely instrumental (aside from beatboxing
Beatboxing
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
on the tracks "Dance" and "Fantasy" and wordless vocals on "B + T", "IPT-2" and "BTTLS"). The first single from the album, "Atlas", was released in the UK on April 2, 2007, and has been used in the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
game LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...
, in the level "The Construction Site". It has also been used in the British television programmes Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
, Top Gear and Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, as well as Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
for their European Civic Type R
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a line of subcompact and subsequently compact cars made and manufactured by Honda. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded...
. Mirrored appeared on 2007 top album lists from several publications, including Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, and Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
.
Reception
Critical response to Mirrored was positive. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 86, based on 31 reviews. The single "Atlas" was #42 on online music magazine
Online magazine
An online magazine shares some features with a blog and also with online newspapers, but can usually be distinguished by its approach to editorial control...
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Top 500 tracks of the 2000s list. Pitchfork also placed Mirrored at number 105 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s. In October 2011, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed "Atlas" at number 54 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Track listing
Personnel
- Dave KonopkaDave KonopkaDave Konopka is an American musician who is best known as the guitarist-bassist in Battles. Prior to joining Battles, he was in the Boston-based math rock band Lynx. The band had released their self-titled album on Box Factory Records in 2000....
– bass, guitar, effects - John StanierJohn Stanier (drummer)John Stanier first came into the spotlight in 1989 as the drummer for the band Helmet. He is known for his speed, endurance, and precision as a performer....
– drums - Ian Williams – guitar, keyboards
- Tyondai BraxtonTyondai BraxtonTyondai Braxton is an American composer and performer, largely known as the former guitarist/singer of Battles, and as a prominently featured artist on record label Warp Records...
– guitar, keyboards, vocals