Written by: Alex Green

The Bats will be releasing a new album in November.

The beloved New Zealand band’s tenth full-length effort is called Foothills and the first single “Warwick” is out now.

Not only have the Bats been together for nearly 40 years, their lineup of singer/guitarist Robert Scott, bassist Paul Kean, guitarist Kaye Woodward and drummer Malcolm Grant has remained unchanged.

In a press release heralding the album, singer Robert Scott said: “Time marches on… finally, we found a gap in our busy lives and chose a week to convene. We found a house that is usually inhabited by ski field workers — Kowai Bush, near Springfield about an hour west of Christchurch and of course nestled in the foothills of the mighty Southern Alps. The songs had been written, demo’d and arranged for some time, but still with a little room for trying things out in the studio. Many carloads arrived at the house, full of amps guitars and recording gear, we set up camp and soon made it feel like home; coloured lights, a log fire, and home cooked meals in the kitchen. We worked fast, and within a few days had all the basic backing tracks done, live together in one room, the way we like to do it – it’s all about ‘the feel’ for songs like ours.”

Meanwhile, in the same press release, Hamish Kilgour of The Clean had this to say about the single:

“The enigmatic Roberto Scotti returns with the rollicking beat combo’s rockin new single with trademark folky swervings. Yet another slyly understated would-be smash pop hit in that “other” perfect world! ‘Warwick’ glides along with enigmatic’ ambiguous, idiosyncratic lyrics astride a Batsian chug and jangle. Freshly minted and hot to trot for The Bats growing classic cannon. Bend your ears, listen in. Sit back, tap your feet, jump up, or possibly shuffle about to another sideways classic. ‘Warwick’ is in the house!”

Foothills is out November 13th on Flying Nun Records.