The Album Club 2017

Electrophonic Tonic · 03-19-2017, 01:27 PM

Bat-Bike
Getting Back

I'm going to go song by song for my review:

Leicester Holiday The main riff reminded me of BJTM, it has this nice mixture of jam and psychedelic elements. It was also interesting since rather than wait a few minutes into a 9 minute track before beginning to ramp things up, you can make out the slow increase in background noise from the beginning, and it works really well by the time the song ends. This is a promising start.

Sean Lemon This is definitely one of my favorites. The slight twang of the lead guitar works really well both against the fuzzed out freakout sections and on it's own during the quieter moments, especially during the meandering end section. I'm not in love with the vocals, but they're by no means a detriment to the song.

Digital Image Maybe this is supposed to work as an interlude, but this was mostly forgettable. As a positive, it didn't overstay it's welcome, so that's cool.

We Like Tom Waits Because He's Famous We're only four songs in, but I think it's clear Bat-Bike works better with longer songs, where they can develop ideas over the length of the track. This is one songs where I say the vocals were a negative.

Bad Ben This songs wound have been solid if it ended after 3.5 minutes. But again, Bat-Bike takes that extra time in the song to develop some ideas and turn a good songs into something a little bit better.

Along on the A9 I'm not gonna name names, but I enjoyed this take on shoegaze more than a certain other album we reviewed in this club. I love the hazy ending after the false fadeout.

Winner This feels like an album ender, not sure why's it's in the middle of the tracklist. Either way, add being able to rawk to the list of things Bat-Bike does well on this album.

Sex One of the better short tracks. It's a nice little detour from the rest of the album.

Where's the Home? Kind of like a B-side Yardbirds/Kinks track. I dig it.

You're So Sticky It's just kinda there. It's not all that bad, but it's for sure one of the lesser tracks on here.

Shades Off I like the vocal part here, it's one of my favorites on the album. The song itself is meh. It's continues the theme of the shorter tracks not being the greatest.

Hollywood At this point, the guitar tone is getting a bit stale. The noisy chorus and vocals help this songs stand out in a good way.

In Zero Another short track, but this one is helped out by the off-kilter ending.

Trapped in the Net This is a nice change sound with the horn part (and maybe piano...?). I've mostly enjoyed the track that get loud/let Bat-Bike freakout, but I like this one a lot.

Getting Back It's nice to hear new sounds on the album (female vocals, maybe another phantom piano), I just wish they didn't come this late. I see why this the closer. It's a nice ending.

I think I'm gonna give this a 7/10. When this is good, it's really good. And if we are applying the maths to our rating, the longer tracks are better tracks on the album, so the vast majority of the album is really good. The problem I think is the track list turns into filler by the second half and the album also gets repetitive. Those new wrinkles in the last few tracks are really nice, and if a few more had been sprinkled throughout the album, it might have staved off the bordom for all 15 tracks. If I had the power, I would have cut the album down to these tracks and re-arranged the tracklist, this could have an 8.5-9 for me:

Leicester Holiday
Sean Lemon
Bad Ben
Along the A9
Winner
Sex
Where's the Home
Hollywood
Trapped in the Net
Getting Back

03-19-2017, 01:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
Electrophonic Tonic Your Ad Here Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: The Twilight Zone Posts: 876	Bat-Bike Getting Back I'm going to go song by song for my review: Leicester Holiday The main riff reminded me of BJTM, it has this nice mixture of jam and psychedelic elements. It was also interesting since rather than wait a few minutes into a 9 minute track before beginning to ramp things up, you can make out the slow increase in background noise from the beginning, and it works really well by the time the song ends. This is a promising start. Sean Lemon This is definitely one of my favorites. The slight twang of the lead guitar works really well both against the fuzzed out freakout sections and on it's own during the quieter moments, especially during the meandering end section. I'm not in love with the vocals, but they're by no means a detriment to the song. Digital Image Maybe this is supposed to work as an interlude, but this was mostly forgettable. As a positive, it didn't overstay it's welcome, so that's cool. We Like Tom Waits Because He's Famous We're only four songs in, but I think it's clear Bat-Bike works better with longer songs, where they can develop ideas over the length of the track. This is one songs where I say the vocals were a negative. Bad Ben This songs wound have been solid if it ended after 3.5 minutes. But again, Bat-Bike takes that extra time in the song to develop some ideas and turn a good songs into something a little bit better. Along on the A9 I'm not gonna name names, but I enjoyed this take on shoegaze more than a certain other album we reviewed in this club. I love the hazy ending after the false fadeout. Winner This feels like an album ender, not sure why's it's in the middle of the tracklist. Either way, add being able to rawk to the list of things Bat-Bike does well on this album. Sex One of the better short tracks. It's a nice little detour from the rest of the album. Where's the Home? Kind of like a B-side Yardbirds/Kinks track. I dig it. You're So Sticky It's just kinda there. It's not all that bad, but it's for sure one of the lesser tracks on here. Shades Off I like the vocal part here, it's one of my favorites on the album. The song itself is meh. It's continues the theme of the shorter tracks not being the greatest. Hollywood At this point, the guitar tone is getting a bit stale. The noisy chorus and vocals help this songs stand out in a good way. In Zero Another short track, but this one is helped out by the off-kilter ending. Trapped in the Net This is a nice change sound with the horn part (and maybe piano...?). I've mostly enjoyed the track that get loud/let Bat-Bike freakout, but I like this one a lot. Getting Back It's nice to hear new sounds on the album (female vocals, maybe another phantom piano), I just wish they didn't come this late. I see why this the closer. It's a nice ending. I think I'm gonna give this a 7/10. When this is good, it's really good. And if we are applying the maths to our rating, the longer tracks are better tracks on the album, so the vast majority of the album is really good. The problem I think is the track list turns into filler by the second half and the album also gets repetitive. Those new wrinkles in the last few tracks are really nice, and if a few more had been sprinkled throughout the album, it might have staved off the bordom for all 15 tracks. If I had the power, I would have cut the album down to these tracks and re-arranged the tracklist, this could have an 8.5-9 for me: Leicester Holiday Sean Lemon Bad Ben Along the A9 Winner Sex Where's the Home Hollywood Trapped in the Net Getting Back __________________ I was told I wouldn't need a signature... Last edited by Electrophonic Tonic; 03-28-2017 at 03:42 PM.