(Translated from my original Italian text by Gemini and Piero Scaruffi)
The Bats, formed in 1983 by bassists Robert Scott (ex Clean, also in Electric Blood) and Paul Kean (ex Toy Love), probably brought New Zealand pop to perfection. For better or worse, their songs represent the "state of the art" of that genre. On the one hand, one must acknowledge in them the same skill as professional songwriters; on the other hand, however, the Bats often sound as banal as those very professionals.
The EP By Night (Flying Nun, 1984), with Scott switching to guitar, Malcolm Grant on drums, and Kaye Woodward on vocals and second guitar, hardly misses a song. The mini-album Music For The Fireside (Flying Nun, 1985) actually develops more complex structures in which the chorus unwinds over a lurching guitar rhythm: Earwig, in a tone that is at once melancholic and heroic; Chicken Bird Run, with a breezy folk gait; Joes Again, driven by a martial country roll; Claudine, propelled by a boogie reminiscent of the Velvet Underground. The EP Made Up In Blue (Flying Nin, 1986) contains three more songs. Compiletely Bats (Flying Nun, 1987) collects the best of these three records and Earwig, the classic by Electric Blood.
The first album, Daddy's Highway (Flying Nun, 1988 - Communion, 2003), contains their classics Treason and North By North, which drive a breathtaking sequence of ineffable melodies, from Take It to Block Of Wood.
Law Of Things (Flying Nun, 1990) repeated the miracle, indeed on a larger scale, including the more "rocking" Made Up In Blue and Ten To One (featuring the violin of Alastair Galbraith). The recipe was always the same: propulsive rhythms and gentle harmonies, Byrds and REM sped up by the neuroses of the Velvet Underground.
The subsequent albums, Fear of God (1991) and Silverbeet (1993), repeated that formula in a way that was as impeccable as it was lacking in imagination. Not surprisingly, the best songs of the later period are almost rewritings of the classics of the early period. The former boasts The Black And The Blue, Boogey Man and Fear of God; the latter Courage, Sighting The Sound and No Time For Your Kind.
The EP Spill The Beans (Flying Nun, 1994) is a distillation of these graceful sentimental miniatures, with the melodic gem Under The Law setting up the title track, enough to make Lou Reed envious, a Give Into The Sands, enough to send REM into retirement, and Make It Clear, enough to make Morrissey blush.
The late Couchmaster (Mammoth, 1995) also continues to surprise with its freshness and intelligence. More than songs, Afternoon In Bed and Crow Song are pieces of classical music for a rock quartet, as also demonstrated by the instrumental Supernova.
A live staple is the fairy-tale melody of Smoking Her Wings.
Magick Heads is Scotts new project. Before We Go Under (Flying Nun, 1995), featuring Before We Go Underwhich would become a staple of Barbara Manningboasts sumptuous arrangements of violin, accordion, and dulcimer.
Surprisingly, Robert Scott's first solo was a mostly instrumental work,
The Creeping Unknown (Thirsty Ear, 2001), a collection of
poignant mood pieces mostly played by himself (David Kilgour helps out on
a few tracks) that run the gamut from
Roy Montgomery's psychedelia to Brian Eno's
ambient electronica.
The Bats reunited for At The National Grid (Magic Marker, 2005),
a collection of sensual pop tunes.
The Guilty Office (Hidden Agenda, 2009) didn't change much in a formula
that had at least the virtue of consistency.
More pensive vocal harmonies (Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward) marked the
passing of time, which otherwise had little effect on the moving
Broken Path, the catchy The I Specialist, the propulsive
Steppin' Out, the pastoral The Orchard and the tense
Countersign.
The lively Spacejunk and the instrumental Canopy keep you awake through
the somnolent Free All the Monsters (2011).
