On this day, 20 August 2007, American experimental rock group Battles played Cardiff’s The Point. Their third band had just released their first studio album Mirrored.
It was released on May 14, 2007 in the United Kingdom, and on May 22, 2007 in the United States. Mirrored marked the first album in which the band incorporated prominent vocals and lyrics into their songs, as previous extended plays by the band had been completely instrumental, with the exception of occasional beatboxing and wordless vocals on certain tracks.
The first single from the album, "Atlas", was released in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2007.
Mirrored was released to wide critical acclaim and appeared on year-end best album lists from several publications, including Time, NME, The Guardian, and Pitchfork Media.
The band is regarded as one of the most innovative math rock bands of both the 2000s and the 2010s, with critics praising the band's unique sound. In 2007, Pitchfork wrote that "Battles have done more to extend the idea of a flesh-and-blood band enhanced by computer technology than anyone since the late, lamented Disco Inferno."
