Photo of Diplo courtesy Annie RayFun Fun Fun Fest lived up to its name in spades last weekend, showcasing local and not-so local bands of all genres on three stages in two short days. Day two was a waiting game of sorts for a lot of festival-goers, and judging by the crowd at Mohawk the night before, many people had only had a taste of Murder City Devils, and were craving more. Stage three was... more ›

Emo’s 15th Anniversary ends this Sunday with structured post-rock from Battles set to invigorate the inside stage. The New York quartet comprised of John Stanier, Ian Williams, David Konopka, and Tyondai Braxton recently released their first full-length, Mirrored, garnering some solid reviews. Each band member brings a prolific resume to Battles, and their experience and versatility binds the oft-explosive sound together. Battles’ live show promises to be an extravaganza of a wide variety of... more ›

Battles Mirrored (Warp) Battles combine John Stanier's (Helmet, Tomahawk) frenetic drumming with Ian Williams' (Don Caballero) signature finger-tapping guitar work and layer prog-metal keyboards along with everything from hip-hop and rap to free jazz to cartoonish vocal effects, creating what is probably going to be one of the most quietly influential albums of the year. Though the band has been around for over four years, Mirrored is their first full-length. Previous EPs have indicated... more ›