Battles’ music has been likened to the sound of “an army of glam-rock robots gargling sheet metal” - a fitting description for a band whose drummer, John Stanier, once hammered the skins for ear-bleeding alt-metal troupe Helmet.

But the New York math-rock boffins are capable of more than mere bludgeoning repetition: they do subtlety, too. Fearsomely talented musicians to a man, the foursome have produced one of 2007’s most challenging debuts in the form of Mirrored, and new single Tonto is one of its most engrossing moments: a mesmeric, 7 minute sonic labyrinth of sinewy basslines, plinky breakdowns and weird, incantatory yelps.

Don't expect to hear it down the local indie disco.

[Myspace]