Battles

Helmed by Ian Williams and John Stanier, Battles ignore traditional genre boundaries to create music that's as engaging as it is inventive and technically proficient. Their lively sound combines and reimagines post-rock, prog, psych, electronic music, post-punk, and more in colorful, constantly evolving ways. Their 2007 debut, Mirrored -- the band's first and only album with -- positioned them as avant-rock futurists, but following his departure, Battles broadened their scope. On 2011's Gloss Drop, they emphasized the catchiest side of their experiments with a cast of guest vocalists; with 2015's all-instrumental La Di Da Di, they proved their music had just as many hooks even without words. By the time of 2019's Juice B Crypts, Battles' lineup was down to a duo, but the wit and sense of adventure in their sound continued to grow.