Bat Country

Last Saturday night at The Good Ship in London, a strange phenomena occurred when the people at the bar suddenly began having little rock-outs mid-conversation. On the other side of the club, a new band had just begun their set and I felt compelled to check out the source of the music that was causing these body-spasms in my companions. And there they were; the five piece band from Brighton, England otherwise known as Bat Country.

This band has a good name, good music and good-looking band members (ladies) and if you’re looking for a fun night of live music you can’t really go wrong with these boys on the set list. Their music is lively with thrumming bass-lines and strong rhythms, which cause even the most dignified barflies to start bopping up and down. While the band loves to hammer out chords, they also don’t shy away from elaborate and engaging melodies giving you songs to rock out to with the talent and form to make you want to hear them again.

Bat Country’s sound is distinctive and they certainly have a British feel, but in terms of genre the band is indiscriminate, meshing elements of rock, indie and folk. Vocally we have Alexi Shrimpton charismatically leading the pack with a similar tonality to Dave Matthews or Bernard Fanning. But vocals just don’t rest with the front man as most of the guys add backing and honestly a band that can do four part harmonies, and do them well, has me sold right there.

The richness and quality of sound is excellent and with no instrument or voice drowning out the others, the boys clearly know how to listen to each other. There are five pieces to the well-oiled machine that is Bat Country and while you know they must be working hard to sound so good, they still manage to make it appear effortless. - Indie Music Reviewer