Bat House
Introduce yourself to the Boston’s new breakout act Bat House that are making some of the greatest & latest noise in Massachusetts. With news that their debut self-produced album will be available April 14, the follow-up to their ghosts EP & “Twist” single sees the group resounding much like their west coast/Pacific dreaming counterparts where they deliver their own brand & sense of community to their surrounding world with a style & sound that is all their own. Like the after mentioned underground upheavals of left coast artist clusters, Bat House’s quartet of Pompy, Shane, Ally & Emmet arrive with that wild-eyed sense of restless wonder—like winged vision wielders fleeing from the cave for the delights & experiences sought in the surrounding world at large.
Presenting here today the world premiere for “Cold Sun”, Bat House flies up to their highest of atmospheric heights yet where they fire off all their biggest & most tricked arrangement yet. This is the song that has it all, the song that you have waited for all season where everything & the kitchen sink is employed & utilized in the richest & most beguiling of treatments & sounds. More than marching to the beat of their own drum; Bat House builds an abode according to their own architectural shape & design where the rogue’s galleries of past, present & future greats are channeled through their own intricate executions. Chords careen from the trickling strums & streams of a rushing brook, to the twisting dream machine effects of the sneaker watching variety. The thunders of shred fests & guitar pedal bursts churn & turn like the elements that rain down around the cabin that houses the fever of seasonal melancholy. Read our interview with Bat House featured right after the following debut for “Cold Sun”.
What were the events that brought about the beginning of Bat House?
Upon entering music school, house shows took place of typical college spirit rally’s or sporting events. We would attend these basement shows and witness our friends and peers putting themselves out there and performing their music in the company of Boston’s creative youth. The energy is electric and life long friendships were made. These events are what drove us to band together and write high energy, guitar-based music.
Who came up with the name & the story behind it?
Shane’s from Florida and his grandparents own a spot in the Keys, and as a kid his grandfather would take his family to this abandoned tower-like structure that was seemingly left in the middle of an air field. His grandpa would tell him that when the Keys were one of the wealthiest areas in the U.S. in the 1920s, the dense mosquito population was the only concern among its millionaire residents. So in order to combat the mosquito infestation, a bat house was built to attract bats into the area so that they would clear up the pesky mosquitoes. And sure enough, no bats ever actually took residence in the house and the structure has remained empty and very spooky ever since.
Describe the process of making the Bat House self titled, and how you all approach your unique blend of arranged forms.
Our writing process is really collaborative and all of the tunes on the record were written in this manner—we really don’t follow the typical songwriting process. We spent a lot of time jamming over one particular groove Pompy would write on drums or a particular guitar or bass riff and then expand further from there. Each song on the record is very different—each it’s own living, and breathing entity.
Drawing inspiration from everywhere and everything allows us to channel complex emotions through unorthodox sounds and grooves. We’re inspired by many aspects of our human experience. Animation, mother nature, visual art, sounds, sights, communities, the city we live in, and the places we visit together and alone fuel us creatively. We’ve written these songs over a period of two years, so they’re very expansive and reflect different parts of each of us as individuals and a collective group. These songs are very much so influenced by our experiences alone and collectively.
Our recording process began with a very unexpected three days of tracking at the Converse Rubber Tracks studio in Boston. We had insane pleasure of working with David Minehan (The Replacements, Paul Westerberg, Aerosmith) for our first two days of tracking and Baines Kluxen on our third day. The Rubber Tracks Studio in Boston is a really special place and we are so thrilled and honored to have been able to lay the foundational work to our record there because we were working with world class engineers and had a lot of incredible gear at our finger tips. We tracked the bass and drums there.
A predominant amount of this record was made in our home in Boston, which is where we have written many of the songs, rehearsed them countless times, and performed them in our former DIY basement venue. With the exception of the recording of the drums and bass at Rubber Tracks, the rest of the album was recorded, mixed, and produced in our basement, our bedrooms and hallways—all by us. We went into the creation process of this record with the intention of bringing out our songs fullest imaginable potential. We did things we may have always heard in our live performance, but may not be able to pull off in a performance setting.The addition of auxiliary percussion and synths with various delays and other effects helped to embed sections with changing vibes and characteristics. The entirety of the record has intricate stamps of the atmosphere that was so incremental in its development.
Give us the wintry tales that informed “Cold Sun”.
“Cold Sun” is a song about the insecurities and dangers that women face, particularly when walking alone at night. The song examines the experience of a woman walking alone in the dark as a figure in the shadows passes by and follows her. She keeps running, but can’t shake these dark figures that follow her. As we reside in a city, this is a situation that we have been directly tied to through personal experience and experiences of close friends.
What’s amazing right now in Boston?
Iceskating, IPAs, wintery walks along the Charles River, Coreanos (arguably the yummiest Korean tacos in Allston), the vibrant music and artistic community.
Other artists you all are really into right now?
Dent, Oh, Malo, Model/Actriz, And The Kids, and Palm are some of our favorite bands.
2017 wishes?
After releasing this album, we’re planning on touring and writing and recording our second album. We’re hoping to tour out of the country by the end of 2017! The most beautiful aspect of touring is traveling and seeing so many places and meeting so many people that you wouldn’t otherwise. We’re excited for the future and to explore new and unknown places.
Listen to more from Bat House via Soundcloud & Bandcamp.
