Bats and Mice - Believe It Mammals
(Lovitt)
We all have bands that we loved in younger years, but who we grew past. I think that's pretty much a prerequisite. However, we all, also, have bands that we once loved, grew past, but never acknowledged growing past. For example, in tenth and eleventh grades I had an unstoppable love of hardcore. Bands like Hot Water Music, Coalesce, Clairemel, Small Brown Bike, and especially the Sleepytime Trio really revved my engine. Now, I'll sometimes put these records on and rock out, but it's never the same. Instead of feeling the same amount of passion and energy for it I once did, usually nowadays I'll grow tired of the similar songs and melodies and want to throw on some Dave Brubeck. This isn't to say that hardcore is bad, it's just no longer my plate.
Now, the aforementioned Sleepytime Trio were a great band... they were melodic and crunchy and awesome, and they were one of my favorites. It truly was a sad day when they broke up. So, when I heard that some of the members had reformed as rodent-rockers Bats & Mice, part of me was happy, but another part was saying, "Now, Anthony, I doubt you're going to like this". So, what I did was, I put Bats & Mice on the backburner and always kept them in the back of my head. I was a little surprised when I found their new album, Believe it Mammals, in my stack of stuff to review for fakejazz, and also fairly happy. With the press sheet claiming that the band "eagerly explores a multiplicity of dynamics, moods, rhythms, and timbres," I was set for the greatest rock record, ever. I mean, eagerly! Multiplicity! These words are not lightly thrown around, people.
What I've received is something that's at once good and bad. Instrumentally, Bats & Mice are a tight group, with, yes, shifting dynamics, timbres, and rhythms. What I can't get past are the vocals. Sometimes, they're yearning (as on the pretty "Worst Comes to Worst"), which is when they're at their best, and other times they sound like the past-his-prime blues-rock singer who plays acoustic sets at the run down tavern that used to be good, back when trends hadn't changed. The worst thing about this is that I don't even like the yearning bits.
If this were given to me a couple of years ago, I probably would have devoured it. It's got a fair amount of diversity, going from straight up rock to melodic softer bits to amiable ballads, and, compared with some singers, the vocals aren't too bad. But there's something about this record that I don't like. I think it's like I said earlier; I really would have dug it a couple of years back. Still, I think people who are looking for talented musicianship and some good, emotionally driven rock should look to Bats & Mice. Good work, fellas.
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