The Bats

After Robert Scott left New Zealand's the Clean, he formed the Bats. The music from their 1987 debut is nearly perfect jangling pop: the guitars are polished and set to shimmer, Scott's vocals deliver longing and melody, and violin fills out the sound. A solid album of guitar pop with a sound that's still mimicked in indie rock. Try "Made Up In Blue."

These New Zealanders are wimps if not simps. Robert Scott's reedy if not weedy quaver cries out for Kaye Woodward to chime in, and the one-foot-at-a-time folk-rock pulse can get pretty lame. But their jangly modesty is touching and smart--they understand the formal and historical limitations of their chosen style. And even though only one of their homely metaphors--" . . . there'll be a morning sky/Bringing you some peace tonight"--unites words and music into a pop moment, the atmosphere sustains. (Grade - B+)