They have no plan, they’re not a band, and they make some of the most challenging and inventive music around. Battles’ offerings so far have been more about quality than quantity, which means they’ve never had enough tracks to release a full-length.

All of that changes this Spring, when Mirrors drops. This new album sees the group’s previously upbeat, instrumental compositions exploring a wider range of sounds and emotions, as well as the addition of vocals to the tracks.

Battles has never adhered to any specific formula as far as genre is concerned, nor has the group proclaimed a mission statement. A far cry from more traditional acts that operate as a single entity with a lead soloist, Battles is made up of only soloists, artists with separate careers and divergent approaches to the music. This, more than anything, explains why frantically strummed guitars can coexist with slow, precise drumbeats, gentle bells, and vocals that often resemble an acapella chorus from the Renaissance. In Battles’ universe, this is just another day in the studio.

Mirrors is out May 15, 2007 on Warp.

Tracklisting
1. Race:In
2. Atlas
3. Ddiamondd
4. Tonto
5. Leyendecker
6. Rainbow
7. Bad Trails
8. Prismism
9. Snare Hangar
10. Tij
11. Race:Out

Meanwhile, the group hits the road at the end of this month for an extensive tour around North America, including a stop-off at the annual Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago.

Tour Dates
03/20 Baltimore, MD: Ottobar
03/22 Philadelphia, PA: First Unitarian Church
03/23 Washington, DC: Black Cat
03/24 Chapel Hill, NC: Local 506
03/25 Atlanta, GA: Drunken Unicorn
03/27 Birmingham, AL: Bottletree
03/28 Lexington, KY: The Dame
03/29 Cleveland Heights, OH: Grog Shop
03/30 Chicago, IL: Empty Bottle
03/31 Pittsburgh, PA: Gooskis
04/01 Toronto, ON: Lees Palace
04/02 Buffalo, NY: Soundlab
04/03 New York, NY: Bowery Ballroom
04/04 Montreal, QC: La Sala Rossa
04/05 Boston, MA: Great Scott
04/06 Providence, RI: AS220