''"Release the Bats"'' is a song by Australian

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

band The Birthday Party. Written by

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, C ...

and

Mick Harvey Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed Th ...

, the song was released as a single on 31 July 1981 through

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...

record label, with the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

"Blast Off". The recordings were produced by the band and Nick Launay. The single charted on

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the re ...

, peaking at number 3. Achieving a

cult status A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

following its release, the title track became influential on the then-emerging gothic rock genre. The tracks off the single were later featured on the CD reissues of the band's final album, '' Junkyard'' (1982), as bonus tracks.

Background and recording

"Release the Bats" became a highlight of the Birthday Party's live set in early 1981 and was recorded for a

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

session. The track and its B-side were recorded on the same night with a session at the Townhouse Studios with producer Nick Launay, who was commissioned by

because of his work on

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and ...

's '' Flowers of Romance'' (1981). Launay managed to book cheap studio time in Studio Two after midnight only, as the daytime session on the studio was occupied by

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

. Launay recalled: "They walked in looking like they hadn't slept in days, all smartly dressed in black like they had just come from church but maybe the church was a ruin with rats, and they hadn't washed in weeks... The term goth did not exist at that time, certainly not in the way we would use it these days, but I will say that recording a song called 'Release The Bats' with people who looked like vampires was pretty fucking exciting!" The sessions were dominated by guitarists

and Rowland S. Howard. During the recording of the vocals of the B-side "Blast Off," they insisted vocalist

redo the middle section of the track many times as a

prank A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

, until Cave was out of breath and nearly collapsed. The band ended up using the first take with the advice of Launay. As a means of retaliation, Launay equalized the guitar tracks with a huge amount of mid-range after they requested that the guitars sound the way a bee sting feels. He also ran them through two more graphic equalizers and cut out all the low end, creating the abrasive and distorted sound of the track. During the rest of the recording, the band members regularly disappeared to the bathroom, which according to Launay "added to the fuel and edginess of the night," and notable arguments broke out, mainly aiming at drummer Phill Calvert. According to Harvey, the title track was conceived as "a comedic interlude" and was recorded "because it happened almost by accident."

Music and lyrics

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

's Amy Hanson categorized the track as a "deep rolling bass-led cacophony," while Sasha Frere-Jones of ''

New Yorker New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to: * A resident of the State of New York ** Demographics of New York (state) * A resident of New York City ** List of people from New York City * ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925 * '' The ...

'' argued that its "rhythm section vamps around a menacing bass figure while the guitar lurches back and forth, unsure of whether to make

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

or form chords." Cave’s barely comprehensible yowling vocals on the track also contrasts with "the ominous baritone with which he’s now indelibly associated." Lyrically, the song was meant to be a

self-parody A self-parody is a parody of oneself or one's own work. As an artist accomplishes it by imitating their own characteristics, a self-parody is potentially difficult to distinguish from especially characteristic productions. Self-parody may be us ...

, caricaturing the band's gothic associations. The title and lyrics of the track employs typical gothic themes, with attacking phrases such as "sex horror sex bat sex sex horror sex vampire sex bat horror vampire sex."

Reception and legacy

AllMusic critic Amy Hanson described the track as "the quintessential Birthday Party song," stating: "The song's title alone ensured that "Release the Bats" became a mantra for the gothic generation as vampires, blood, and biting were so popular with the caped crowd." The song formed a basis for the gothic rock genre, which was later dismissed by Cave. '' NME'' listed the track as number 7 on its list of "The 20 Greatest Goth Tracks." The single was also featured on '' Fact'' magazine's list of "20 best: Goth records ever made" as number 5.

Track listing

;A-side # "Release the Bats" (Cave, Harvey) – 2:32 ;B-side # "Blast Off" (

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also prob ...

) – 2:19

Personnel

;The Birthday Party *

– vocals *

– guitar, keyboards * Tracy Pew – bass guitar * Phill Calvert – drums * Rowland S. Howard – guitar ;Technical personnel * The Birthday Party – production * Nick Launay – production * Bilbo – mastering

Charts

References

External links

* {{The Birthday Party 1981 songs 1981 singles The Birthday Party (band) songs 4AD singles Song recordings produced by Nick Launay Songs written by Nick Cave Songs written by Mick Harvey