(originally reviewed for Connected Magazine and Connected Online)
For those not in the loop, Saturday the 29th of August was a “must be out in town” kind of night in Dublin with some mega live music scattered within. And you missed it. For shame.
As for you people keeping your ear to the ground, I’m sure you joined me on a crawl of venues for more than one taste of current Irish talent. Music talent that is.
The big one was of course The Redneck Manifesto, who played to a jam packed crowd at Whelans and were as consistently on form as always. But many questioned the time frame of the gig. Doors at 8pm? Surely not. Well all became clear during the set, as we all found out that the gig was purposefully early to make way for the late night entertainment, namely the BATS album launch in Andrews Lane Theatre.
A five piece prog post-punk group (if they are even definable) who have been running rampant on the Irish circuit for the past 3 years, brought their debut full-length album Red In Tooth And Claw to the stage in ATL, and with great support lined up the show had potential to perfect an already ideal night. Personally, after checking out their myspace I was intrigued and positive about hearing a band whom I compared to post hardcore bands like At The Drive In, a band I love.
Jogging, the first support act, held their own on stage and did their thing, creating expectedly loud and magnificently heavy riffs to please a growing audience. But the crowd seemed to be anxious to see the hosts play the new material to an already impressive flock of devotees. or at least that was my assumption.
An assumption of which grew less and less probable when the next band hit the stage. The already popular Adebisi Shank. With a sound so indefinable they can sound like Qotsa one minute, Mars Volta the next, and catch you off guard with Matt Bellamy style riffs. And how the crowd ate it up. With a stage presence destined for higher ground and a sound to equal no band would bge safe following these guys.
And unfortunately that was the case. When BATS finally kicked off, the crowd had wound down quite noticeably and even though I was still optimistic, it was becoming clear that the majority of the night’s party goers had seen their band of choice already. Having possibly set my expectations too high, or having been so impressed by the previous band that none could compare, either way I was reduced to forcing myself to listen to an entire set of contrived noise, a failed attempt to cross mainstream Indie culture with the fleeting experimental rock scene. Every song further mutated them into a version of Foals, with equal band members but less talent. Having recorded their album in March of this year, I cannot help but feel the record was slightly rushed, therefore their quality was drowned in speedy, over production.
Whatever the case maybe, whether it is a regrettable choice of support bands too hard to follow of a lack of substance to their own creation, BATS live debut of their new album Red In Tooth And Claw just doesn’t cut the mustard.