Studio 52 is a community artist space located in the heart of Allston, and is proud to support the Boston music scene and local artist community.
Math rock, traditionally, is not a pleasant thing (don’t @ us). While numbingly technical and often downright intellectual, the genre has never been fit for a party — or any social gathering, ever.
Enter Bat House, whose new self-titled album manages to err on the side of whimsy while showing off the Allston band’s intricate musical chops. Part “neo-punkadelica,” part artful math rock, Bat House present themselves in full bloom on their first full-length release.
While the group’s debut LP dropped on April 14, their celebration is a tad belated; Black Beach and Twen join Bat House this Sunday (April 23) for the official album release show at Great Scott in Allston.
Recorded in the two polar opposite environments, Bat House captures the expertise of the Boston Converse Rubber Tracks Studio and the signature dinge of the Allston DIY scene. Their video for “Alright, Spaceboy”, released in February, captures the entire band’s aesthetic with art house cinematography, geometrics, and a heaping dose of glitter.
The band chimed in on the recording experience from the back of their van, en route to their next destination before eventually returning home for their show on Sunday. (Surely, the drive down to South-By-Southwest for our party with Berklee, in the middle of snowstorm Stella, prepped them for life on the road more than they could have imagined).
“The opportunity to start our album recording process at Rubber Tracks set up the structure of the production,” Bat House tell us. “With two days and a lot of gear at our disposal, we wanted to get as much tracked as possible. We realized the rarity of the situation and wanted to get the most productive use out of it.”
From there, Bat House retreated to their basement venue abode the Banana Hammock to work on the final touches of the tracks. Their EP ghosts was recorded in the same four walls. “With the help of the very talented David Minehan and Baines Kluxen, we were able to track basics to the entire record,” they add. “It was in the coming months that we hid away in our basement to build upon the structure laid at Rubber Tracks.”
The two-part process yielded a 10-track medley of fuzzy noise rock that drips and dribbles from the turntable. From the strategically choppy cadence of “Patterns,” to absolute frenzy of “Final Boss Stage,” Bat House’s new album is as musically polished as the grit of Allston can get. Get into it below.
BAT HOUSE + BLACK BEACH + TWEN :: Sunday, April 23 at Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave. in Allston, MA :: 9 p.m., 18-plus, $10 in advance and $12 at doors :: Advance tickets :: Bowery Boston event page :: Facebook event page :: Flyer below by Jane Fitzsimmons
