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Title: Bats second wind
Review: The Bats were an integral part of the odd jangly pop of the New Zealand 80's south isle: lovely, often pastoral songs that never seemed to age at their high points...Who could ever grow tired of the inscrutable "The Other Side of You"? But after The Law of Things the band seemed to go into decline, with cleaner and more conventional sounding records that stepped away from their Clean-ish roots.At the National Grid is a terrific return to form, albeit a different one than the early records that made their name. The songs have less of the nervy hooks and catchy immediacy, instead offering lushness and hazy mood. Technically they never sounded this good in the studio before and they take time to stretch out and enjoy the sonics of songs, many of which are gilded with a slight psychedelic haze. But this is no shoegaze outing, and this is still the band behind those great early records. Alistair Galbraith also returns to contribute his violin to these meaty treats.
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