The Bats - Couchmaster

FN301 (1995)

If Couchmaster did one thing, it was cement The Bats as one of New Zealand's great bands.

Alongside that, this 1995 release, which has now been re-mastered by bassist Paul Kean, sees the band exploring and experimenting with the folkish-psychedlic pop they have become internationally renown for.

Couchmaster , their sixth album, shows a band that is far from resting, with tracks such as the excellent Afternoon in Bed - a song so perfecty balanced, so perfectly The Bats. Robert Scott's wistful lyrics and guitar/vocal hooks are all accompanied by brilliantly crafted songwriting that is always trying something different. Whether that be the electronic howls on Chain Home Low or Woodward's lead vocals on Shoeshine, Couchmaster is an album full of intelligent pop music that refuses to sit still.

Tracklist:
- Outside
- Afternoon In Bed
- Around You Like Snow
- Work It Out
- Train
- Train
- Land 'O' Lakes
- Chain Home Low
- Supernova
- Shoeshine
- Crow Song
- Smorgasboard
- Knowledge Is Power
- It's Happening To You
- For The Ride
- Out Of Bounds
- Down To Me