The Bats - Free All The Monsters Album Review
The first thing I notice when popping in The Bats new release, Free All The Monsters, is the distinct ‘Dunedin sound’ to which The Bats have been a part of, in their impressive thirty year career to date. Less is more with jingly guitars and loose drumming, summing up the Dunedin Sound perfectly.
The Bats, formed in 1982 in Christchurch have spanned over seven albums, including three EP’s and countless international tours, making them a much respected part of New Zealand’s music legacy.
Kicking off with ‘Long Hall’s’ vocalist/guitarists; Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward have a sweet harmony which gels perfectly, no doubt down to a fine art after all these years of making music together along with Bassist, Paul Ken and Malcolm Grant, drums.
A very mellow, soft vocal style flows through the whole album, with an unmistakable 80’s sound to it, despite being the 21st century. Indie overtones come out more on some tracks, such as ‘Simpletons’ a cute short number, while ‘Fingers of Dawn’ have a quirky feel to it, with some nice mellow guitar solos ringing out to set the pace, and harmonising vocal style.
If you’re a fan of a bit of old school Kiwi indie pop rock, you should add Free the Monsters to your collection, an impressive album, still keeping with a sound that is still known and loved by all today.
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About The Bats
The Bats have long been Flying Nun’s quiet achievers. They’ve toured America five times, guested with Radiohead and the Buzzcocks, had one of their songs on the soundtrack of a Kiera Knightly movie, charted in France, been on the cover of Billboard magazine and landed an NME Single of the Week (for Made Up In Blue).
The 3 played together a couple of times at parties as The Percy Taiwan Band until they got together with Malcolm Grant (The Bilders) on drums. With this line-up they decided on the name The Bats and played their first gig at the Empire in Dunedin on New Years' Eve 1982.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for The Bats
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