The Bats The Law Of Things Flying Nun/Mammoth, 1990 amazon

Two for two. And in such convincing fashion, too. Yes, i found myself needing to further pursue The Bats after being so impressed with their 1987 debut album Daddy's Highway, so i picked up the 1990 followup The Law Of Things. And again, the opening song ("Other Side Of You" in this case) grabbed my attention within the first few bars. The sophomore album is no great innovation on the first, but as i was so taken with their first offering no improvement is required. What is achieved is a strengthening of the songwriting, a focus on the individuality and uniqueness of each song while maintaining the whole as a cohesive unit. Do you ever listen to a song, and play little riffs in your head on top of it? Yes? Do you ever find that the riffs in your head are much more interesting than the ones the band came up with? I haven't had that feeling yet with the Bats. In fact, the amazing thing is that the Bats keep one upping me. In a genre that's all about creating emotionally resonant song structures, these Kiwis keep coming out on top. What's even stranger is that the last band i can remember associating with this much was the Go-Betweens. There's something going on down under.

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