Bat House – Bat House (2017)

Boston’s Bat House bring elements from across the musical landscape and feed them through the lo-fi grinder in their explosive and versatile self-titled debut. Bat House is an epic journey, wandering across surf rock, folk, shoegaze and intense polyrhythmic mathcore madness.

There’s a twangy feel to this record; the guitars are jangling, and the vocals are distorted and reverbed. Tracks like ‘Patterns’ and ‘Chemical X’ bring to mind the stripped down alt-punk-pop sounds of the 2010’s, where bands like Wavves, No Age and Jay Reatard were at their peak. Structurally, however, Bat House is far from punk. This is an album of luscious excess: dazzling angular hooks, wildly inventive instrumental interludes and punchy stop/start rhythms.

And that’s what makes this record such an enjoyable listen: it’s variety and unpredictability. Bat House’s approach to music, their liberal use of the musical toolbox, gives this album an element of suspense and surprise – for me, the most rewarding components of math rock. It’s a prime cut indeed, one that will retain its freshness after many a listen.