Project Description

BATPISS

“Rest in Piss”

(Album Review)

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Batpiss

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Beginning with a two-minute instrumental dominated by tribal drums, Rest in Piss is a staunchly minimal album. Followed by a slower, ominous, sci-fi infused spoken word with an eternally-repeated riff, the record is not as predictable as the title might suggest.

There is, of course, for the punk n’ grind enthusiasts plenty of bone crunching feedback, lo-fi distortion and screechy aggression. It’s just that there’s a little more to it than that. Given a generous airing, more psychedelic elements reveal themselves; elements owing as much to Moving Sidewalks or the 13th Floor Elevators as they do to early Michigan punk.

The result is a haunting record that might catch some listeners off guard; but for those prepared to persevere there is gold to be found. The DIY feel to the production genuinely works to the album’s benefit because it might otherwise sound like something Roger Waters put together on a really shitty day. In this case the production balances the progressive elements with the raw sludge that powers the sentiment of the album, if not always the sound of it.

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Batpiss

Ticket link here

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Formed in 2011, Batpiss are a solid, hardworking act from Melbourne, although two out of the three members originally hail from rural NSW. In tracing the evolution from straight up percussion-and-noise punk to something a little more nuanced, the 2012 self-titled record is an instructive starting point. It’s simple, aggressive and raw, but even then there was a hint of something, a sign that there was something unusual waiting to be chipped away. With the latest offering the band has now truly grown into itself and the years spent honing the sound have paid off. I’ve said before that when it works, the three piece is the most powerful formation in rock n roll. Batpiss lay truth to that. It’s tight without being slick and it’s simple without being derivative. They’re still a rhythm driven act and the drums are at the heart of Rest in Piss, but sonically the record works as a whole with the elements combining to create a kind of ordered chaos.

Often the term stoner punk seems a little paradoxical but in this case it’s a pretty apt descriptor. It’s just left of centre enough that any one of a thousand genre terms might work, or none of them might. It’s definitely worth a listen, though, for anyone who likes their heavier music with a kink in it.

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Batpiss

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AMNPLIFY – DB