Artist: Battlestations
Label: Self-released
Release: 2011
Runtime: 45:28
Rating: 4.3/5
Building enigmas and myths around a band is always a charismatic way to storm the scene of musical intrigue. If that same band, wrapped in its cloak of mystery, happens to hit the right audience, an urban legend can really start to take shape. And if the band finally has the one thing that ultimately matters – the music, that magical, invisible substance behind the greatest musical myths and legends – then the revelation that this is a band that could write music history is completely expected and inevitable.
Enigma, mystery, myth-making… that whole image only suits a very specific style of music. One that also recreates, in sound, the exact same illusion the band has already managed to conjure up. In this case it’s not exactly a band leaning on the Cthulhu mythos (and there are quite a few of those), although the darkness of the music easily parallels Lovecraft’s horror tales. We’re talking about an extremely young band (though even that isn’t exactly clear) from Belgium. Number of members – unknown. Identities of members – unknown. Ability to create the most incredible soundscapes and colors – negligible. Just kidding. It’s off the charts.
Battlestations conquered the progressive, post-rock and similarly minded scene faster than Julius Caesar could say »Veni, Vidi, Vici« (I came, I saw, I conquered). Their self-titled album dropped so unannounced, so out of nowhere, that it floored everyone who listened to it. The band modestly offered their music up through all sorts of forums and blogs, to journalists for review and to anyone willing to give it a free spin. And so everyone who wanted to find out more about Battlestations after listening – and trust me, that’s the vast majority of people – found – nothing. Smudged traces, faceless personas. The only thing circulating about them was the one thing they allowed – their music. Maybe that’s exactly why this one public thing about them is so special. So special that people accept it as their only identity.
The album is made up of three segments, one running up to eight minutes and two stretching to almost 19 minutes each. Each has a theme it tells about, which gives them a structure reminiscent of what we know from classical music. But this isn’t classical… this is completely beyond-genre music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctR-zzfnqDw
Segment 1, the longest track, is called »No Survivors«. It’s split into 10 passages, each with its own story, each with a new victim. The melancholic music that runs through not just this segment but the whole album is backed by assorted speech samples. They’re blurred, nearly unintelligible, drenched in white noise. But the formula of the songs is far from simple. Inside the music – Segment 1 as well as the rest – we run into plenty of obscure experimentation, plenty of truly fresh takes on modern sonic expression. We’re talking all kinds of electronic manipulation, electric and acoustic guitars doubled in strange discord, ethereal vocals floating over a rhythmless instrumental. The Tangerine Dream-style approach to building abstract walls of sound still doesn’t come off as recycled, maybe because here it’s mixed with genre ingredients that didn’t exist back in Tangerine Dream’s day. Traces of shoegaze, classical piano music, progressive rock and post-rock are transcendentally blended into a magical beyond-style cocktail that, despite its minimalist approach, manages to give the impression of a full orchestra playing. Segment 2 and 3, each with its own theme – »The Taste Of The Kill« and »Accidents Of Ideals« – carry on this melancholic, post-apocalyptic devastation of the soul, which Battlestations try (is it “tries”? is it “try”?) to abstract through musical dimensions.
The entrance into the postmodern, self-searching music commune is therefore flawless. Charismatic, mysterious, sudden, and yet unbelievably humble. Blitzkrieg without the ammo. Winning people over with the most beautiful form of abstract substance humankind has ever known – music.
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Creating enigmas and myths around a band is always a particularly charismatic entry into the scene of music intrigue. If this same band, hidden under the coat of mystery, happens to encounter the right kind of audience, then urban legends begin to be written. And if the band possesses the thing that actually counts – music, this magical, invisible substance of the most legendary of musical myths, then it is hardly difficult to not think about this band as potentially legendary.
Enigmas, mysteries, myth-making… the whole image can be based on a very specific style of music. A style that itself creates the same illusion as with its appearance, but rather with sound. I am not talking about a band that is leaning on the various myths as is the Cthulhu one, although their dark music could as well be paralleled with Lovecraft’s horror writing. This band is a quite young one (although that is no really known), and the members come from Belgium. The number of musicians in the band – unknown. Their identity – unknown. Their ability to create the most incredible music – unbelievable.
Battlestations, the band in question, took the progressive, post-rock and similarly-oriented scene faster than Julius Caesar can say “Veni, Vidi, Vici”. Their self-titled album came so unexpected that it took everyone by surprise. Band started to modestly advertise their music more or less through various forums, inviting everyone to listen to their music. For free, of course. And after that, everyone that tried to find out more about this mysterious band – and the ones that tried to do that were quite a few – found – zero. Nada. The only thing that was known about them was the only thing that the band itself wanted to be known about them – their music. And maybe that is why their music is special. So special that people stopped wondering about their identity and accepted music as their sole one.
The self-titled album is made-up of three segments. Each segment has its own theme, its own story, which is kind of reminiscent of the classical music. But Battlestations can hardly be called classical. Truth be told, they can’t be really placed in a genre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctR-zzfnqDw
Segment 1, the longest track on the album, is called “No Survivors”. It is divided into 10 passages, each with its own story, each with its own victim. Thoroughly melancholic music, which is not particular only to this segment, but to the whole album, is complemented with numerous samples of speeches. These are blurred, almost inaudible, full of white noise. But the formula for the band’s tracks is not even near completion. The music – Segment 1 as well as the other two – is full of obscure experimenting. There are numerous attempts at making something fresh with everything today’s modern electronics have to offer – countless electronic manipulations, doubling of electric and acoustic guitars through discord, ethereal vocals pasted onto a instrumental without a rhythm. Tangerinedreamish approach to creating various sound barriers never felt so fresh. Maybe because this time, they are mixed with so many other genres that simply weren’t there in the 70’s. Shoegaze, piano music, progressive rock and post-rock are all transcendentally mixed into this magical genreless cocktail, which succeeds in creating an illusion of a full-blown orchestra, even though the music is quite minimalistic. Segment 2 and 3 – “The Taste Of The Kill” and “Accidents Of Ideals” – continue with the melancholic post-apocalyptic mental ravage, which is abstracted to its musical fullest.
The entry into the postmodern, self-searching musical commune is therefore perfect. Charismatic, mysterious, sudden, but at the same time incredibly modest. Like blitzkrieg without the ammunition. Winning the people over with the purest form of the most abstract substance there is – music.
Lineup
Not known.
Tracklist
1. Segment 1: No Survivors (18:57)
2. Segment 2: The Taste Of The Kill (7:56)
3. Segment 3: Accidents Of Ideals (18:36)
