finetune artist: The Bats

This celebrated New Zealand band grew out of the ashes of two other legendary Kiwi outfits, Toy Love and the Clean. Paul Kean and Robert Scott had been the respective bass players for those bands, before deciding to form a new group together in 1983. Scott took up guitar, vocals and songwriting, with Kaye Woodward as singer/multi-instrumentalist and drummer Malcolm Grant, formerly of the Builders. The Bats then recorded their debut, 1984's six-song By Night EP, for Flying Nun Records. The seven-song And Here Is "Music For The Fireside"! 12-inch mini-album followed a year later. Both collections veered from pure pop to country laments, though throughout, their style was dominated by tranquil guitar passages. The three tracks on the Made Up In Blue EP were recorded in London while touring Europe and were subsequently added to the fine Compiletely compilation, along with all but one track from the band's previous releases. Daddy's Highway was their first record to be released in the USA (through Mammoth Records), where they subsequently toured. Afterwards Kean joined the re-formed Clean for a spell, while Kaye Woodward took time out to become a mother. The Bats then returned in 1990 with their best record yet, The Law Of Things. The customary subdued pop and lyrical cunning sounded immediately contemporary. More complementary studio technique added substance to Scott's songs, without any betrayal of the band's intrinsic charm. Silverbeet offered a slightly more strident sound, with songs such as "No Time For Your Kind' establishing a cohesive pop blueprint. The band's increased productivity continued with 1994"s Spill The Beans EP, where folk leanings dominated. The subsequent Couchmaster, whose title may have been an ironic nod to their established, laconic style, returned to the serene, melancholic songwriting of The Law Of Things.

Listen to The Bats at Finetune.

(2004) The Law Of Things
(2004) Couchmaster
(2004) Daddy's Highway
(2004) Fear Of God