Shocker: I love the new Bats

Yeah, I gave it all away in the title didn't I? After about half a lifetime of really enjoying the Bats, I am, unsurprising, quite taken with the eighth and newest album, which is called Free All the Monsters.

Here is my favorite paragraph from a review up at Dusted today, in which I fumble to explain why my favorite part of the album (which is not going to be everyone's favorite part) is so great. All together now..."Hey-ey-ey-ey-aye."

"You could spend a lot of time unearthing middle age insecurities in Free All the Monsters’s lyrics, the simple things that no longer satisfy, the days that drag on, the years that fly by. It’s all there, observed obliquely but accurately, and without self-pity. Still, I have to admit that my favorite line is the “hey-ey-ey-ey-aye” that brackets each verse of “Fingers of Dawn.” There’s a warmth and assurance in these meaningless syllables, a serenity that transcends any linear narrative. The song is about waking up from a dream, relinquishing an imaginary haven and coming to terms again with ordinary life. It’s an unpleasant process, this daily rebirth and reorientation, but I like to think of the “hey-ey-ey-ey-aye” refrain as the sunlight streaming through the window, making another day of the quotidian struggle possible, even somewhat attractive."

What, you still want to read the rest of the review? Inexplicable.

Here's an official video for "In the Subway," which raises the question, "Are there subways in Dunedin?" Who knew?


In other breaking news, I am also totally loving Ersatz G.B., the 900th (or is it 901st?) album from Mark E. Smith & Co. (Did I mention that I hung up on his wife once? No? Hah, get me drunk and I'll tell you about it.)

The Bats’ Robert Scott

Something wonderful from New Zealand, what a surprise!

Robert Scott
Ends Run Together
(Flying Nun)
www.flyingnun.co.nz

The beef on Robert Scott - and indeed on his long-running band, the Bats - is that the sound never changes. Even if you enjoy the propulsive jangle of "North by North" or "Block of Wood," the canard goes, there's no reason to pick up the new one. It'll just be more of the same exquisitely droning, carefully modulated guitar pop. This argument has always seemed like ADD-addled analysis to me. If you listen carefully, it's easy enough to pick out subtle changes in the sound, and anyway, people who value gimmicks over quality deserve what they get.

But in any case, Ends Run Together, Scott's third solo album, is a surprisingly varied document, putting college rock jangle, next to wistful folk rock, next to driving guitar psychedelia, next to open-ended instrumental experiments. It's also quite good, end to end, emotionally resonant without being weepy, well-constructed without sacrificing a certain slapdash charm.

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"Too Early"