November 25-December 1, 2004

musicpicks

Battles

Rock/pop

Math homework had to be the worst part of high school (aside from the soap scum in swimming class). Yet the term math-rock is still applied to bands like Battles as some sort of gushy compliment. Come on, people! Rock is not supposed to remind us of ratios. Taut and technical doesn't necessarily imply "get me a pillow to sleep on, this is going to take a while." Seriously, now. Leave the stoned guitar solos to the school of Phish. Battles has the drummer from friggin' Helmet for Hades' sake (John Stanier) and an avant-savant sideman (Tyondai Braxton)—not to mention guitarists from chaos theorists Don Caballero (Ian Williams) and Lynx (David Konopka). If you must plug them into an equation, these four variables prove less mopey and more metal than Mogwai, with specks of funk, IDM and hard-jazz sprinkled about for good measure. Let's drop the math metaphors and draw some dodgeball parallels or something.

Sat., Nov. 27, 9 p.m., $10, with Euphone, Turing Machine and South Congress, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888.

—Andrew Parks