Il Sogno del Marinaio | Whelan's (Upstairs), Dublin (8pm, 4th March) | €5-6 Some dark, gravel-voiced rock featuring Mike Watt for your Monday night. Lianne La Havas | Olympia, Dublin (7:30pm, 5th March) | €21 The wonderfully talented - and not to mention, delectable - Ms La Havas asks the Olympia Is Your Love Big Enough? Mama Rosin | Grand Social, Dublin (8pm, 5th March) | €8 Swiss, banjo-led [...]
From Bats For Lashes' The Haunted Man , her new music video for "Lilies" directed by Peter Sluszka ... Read the full article at http://www.prefixmag.com/news/ watch-bats-for-lashes-lilies-v ideo/72971/

15-year old Leeds techno producer, Happa , mixes in for Mix Mag's Mix of the Week. This kid is talent. Intricate bass kicked rhythms on a techno industrial train headed to a dingy gutted warehouse. He knows exactly whats up... Daphni ignites the cosmic disco dancefloor in the Boiler Room . Nothing but good vibes on his get-down and groovy set. Get connected... Portland experimentalist, BAT (Best Avaible Technology) contributes his mix for the Opal Tapes mix [...]
Dublin based BATS have been around since their 2009 debut Red In Tooth And Claw established them as one of the most impressive new acts of the time; three years later and they have been labelled under more genres than one could expect, but predominantly a post-punk, progressive/metal band. The first band signed to The Richter Collective it seems fitting that their latest record be the last release on the soon to be defunct label, closing an era. The Sleep Of Reason opens with a rhythm more reminiscent of a [...]

Well, I would never have foreseen the Bats having three songs up here on the 'blague. But then, serendipity has always been a big part of the project. This is a driving, feedbacky one from the excellent benefit album for Chris Knox, released in the wake of his tragic stroke. As much as I never believe it when songs tell me "it's alright," I kinda gotta go with them here. The Bats - Just Do It
Set to be the final album from Richter Collective , Bats ' The Sleep Of Reason is to be released on October 20th. Produced by These Arms Are Snakes' Chris Common, if the teaser trailer below is anything to go by it should be as noisy and abrasive a record as we might expect. Tracklisting: 1. Emergent Properties 2. Wolfwrangler 3. Stem Cells 4. Astronomy, Astrology 5. The Sleep of Reason Brings Forth Monsters 6. Heat Death 7. Creatures Collecting 8. Thomas Midgley Jr. [...]
With Oxegen off the festival schedule for at least one summer, there was a danger the Electric Picnic line-up would lose some of its more heavy and experimental acts in favour of the usual stadium fodder. Thankfully, that appears not to be the case, with Texan post rock juggernaut Explosions in the Sky leading a small but formidable band of left field rock acts. Here's the pick of the bunch: BATS ‘Uncompromising’ is an oft-abused word in the world of heavy rock, but it’s hard to argue with the description of Dublin [...]

The first time I listened to Half Right by Zebra Hunt I kept thinking that there was no way that the song could not be that good. It started out with guitar jangle reminiscent of the Verlaines, I thought OK this sounds cool, but kept expecting it to go downhill from there (at heart I'm a pessimist). Next the singer starts to sing "I'm only half right with you" sounding like he's related to both Graeme Downes and David Kilgour. At this point any lingering pessimism has flown out the window and I am now a super fan of [...]

The first time I listened to Half Right by Zebra Hunt I kept thinking that there was no way that the song could not be that good. It started out with guitar jangle reminiscent of the Verlaines, I thought OK this sounds cool, but kept expecting it to go downhill from there (at heart I'm a pessimist). Next the singer starts to sing "I'm only half right with you" sounding like he's related to both Graeme Downes and David Kilgour. At this point any lingering pessimism has flown out the window and I am now a super fan of [...]
Swiss sludge metal outfit Zatokrev has a new album on the way titled the Bat, the Wheel and a Long Road to Nowhere , which is slated for a release later this year on Candlelight Records. When it comes to the heavy, crushing sounds of sludge metal, Zatokrev definitely meets the mark on this new track "Goddamn Lights," but the band goes beyond the call with some pretty melodic guitars, a moody interlude, and a pretty climactic finish. There's a subtle black metal influence going on as well that's blended in nicely.
If your knowledge of New Zealand's music scene doesn't extend beyond Flying Nun Records and Flight of the Conchords, then rejoice — there's a shitload of excellent Kiwi music just waiting to be discovered! With the excellent new album by James Milne — aka Lawrence Arabia — out this week, we thought it'd be a fine time to survey some of the other great music coming out of the North and South Islands. (We're focusing on indie stuff here, so there's nothing from the world of New Zealand dub, which is probably a whole separate post in and [...]
The Midsummer festival is shining on Cork for 10 days, ending on July 1. It's an arts and culture festival that brightens up the city for a few days in anotherwise dull summer. In previous years it's only been the music events that have really appealed to me - the [Read more]

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription . This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s selection, featured during our Summer Fundraising Drive, is "Free All the Monsters" by New Zealand indie-pop pioneers The Bats from the 2011 album Free All the Monsters on Flying Nun Records . The Bats - Free All the Monsters ( MP3 ) [...]
If last month's mix showed my inspiration from Wyndham's funky February mix , then this one is my homage to Freed's mix last summer . I'm confident that many will make summer mixes, but this one is mine. Others may focus on what's new, but this focuses on what's awesome. And that's what makes it so cool. [ cover image by Melissa Mercier ] June 2012 Mix - "Cool Summer" 01 Bob Lind - Cool Summer (1966) [...]

A couple days of no clouds in the sky puts me right in a mind to crave jangly New Zealand pop. Especially when the feel is totally at odds with the lyrics. Case in point — this breezy little number about a murderer contemplating the dead body in the river and his comeuppance is going to go down. Ah, summer is surely in the air. The Bats - Jetsam
doug paisley Filed under: mp3 , music stuff Tagged: bats , doug paisley , golden embers , music , no quarter records
The Uncluded is the unlikely pairing of Kimya Dawson and indie rap hero Aesop Rock. Bats was released on picture disk for Record Store Day over the weekend. Look for a full length album later this year.

Another variety show, no particular theme. It was set to be a sunny weekend, and that meant hitting the road. After a late Friday night at the station, I woke up early, grabbed my bike and went on a solid 10 mile ride. It was the first of the sort for 2012; the first of many. I need to get in shape for the 200 mile Seattle to Portland ride in July. Just about half way, I paused to snap the shot above. The Skagit Valley is known [...]
*** NEW MUSIC - Canadian Zeus are releasing their second album 'Busting Visions' on March 27th. 'Are You Gonna Waste My Time?' - Sydney's Deep Sea Arcade will release their long-awaited debut album...