Coachella Day One: Battles

New York’s instrumental titans Battles sounded as if their set was mixed by the guys at THX, as they played to an overflowing afternoon crowd in the Gobi tent. The quartet’s musical skills were sharp enough to slice through anything. Playing tunes from their debut full-length “Mirrored,” Battles perfromed a precise time piece, playing through difficult time signatures and stop-on-a-dime experiments. They may have been a bit too precise – robbing some of the spontaneity and fun from the live event.

Check out all the coverage at www.variety.com/coachella.

Posted by David Lewis.