The Law of Things

Last updated

The Law of Things
Lawofthings.jpg
Studio album by
Released1990
RecordedSept-Oct 1988
Genre Dunedin sound, Indie pop, Alternative rock
Length38:56
Label Flying Nun Records [1]
Producer The Bats, Brent McLachlan
The Bats chronology
4 Songs
(1988)
The Law of Things
(1990)
Fear of God
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 6/10 [5]

The Law of Things is an album by the New Zealand band The Bats, released in 1990. [6] [7] It was released by Mammoth Records in the United States. [5]

Contents

The track "Smoking Her Wings" was released as a single, and the album peaked at #38 in the New Zealand charts. [8] [9]

Production

The album was recorded at Writhe Recording in Wellington, New Zealand, toward the end of 1988. [10] It was produced by Brent McLachlan and the band. [4]

Critical reception

Trouser Press called the album "monumental," writing: "Capturing all the hooky appeal and personal charm of their first records, it updates the recipe with seven years of instrumental mastery and superior sonics." [11] The New York Times wrote that "the production is raw; the song structures are almost self-consciously unsophisticated - just jaunty guitar riffs, roughshod 4/4 rhythms and, in the more aggressive tracks, base lines that rumble and swell and even drown out the other instruments." [12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Bats/Robert Scott

No.TitleLength
1."Other Side Of You"3:10
2."Law Of Things"2:13
3."Never Said Goodbye"2:33
4."Yawn Vibes"3:40
5."Time To Get Ready"4:16
6."Ten To One"2:38
7."Mastery"3:00
8."I Fall Away"2:27
9."Cliff Edge"3:05
10."Nine Days"3:43
11."Bedlam"3:28
12."Smoking Her Wings"4:37

Personnel

Also credited:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bailter Space</span>

Bailter Space is a New Zealand shoegaze and noise rock band that formed in Christchurch, in 1987 as Nelsh Bailter Space; they had previously recorded as The Gordons. Its members are Alister Parker, John Halvorsen, Brent McLachlan. After releasing seven studio albums, numerous EPs/singles and a career retrospective compilation, Bailter Space went on an extended hiatus in 2004. They returned in August 2008 to play the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan.

<i>New Traditionalists</i> 1981 studio album by Devo

New Traditionalists is the fourth studio album by the American new wave band Devo, released in 1981 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded over a period of four months between December 1980 and April 1981 at the Power Station in Manhattan, New York City. It features the minor hits "Through Being Cool" and "Beautiful World".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straitjacket Fits</span>

Straitjacket Fits formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986 and were a prominent band in the Flying Nun label's second wave of the Dunedin sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bats (New Zealand band)</span> New Zealand rock band

The Bats are an influential New Zealand rock band formed in 1982 in Christchurch by Paul Kean (bass), Malcolm Grant (drums), Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward. Though primarily a Christchurch band, The Bats have strong links to Dunedin and are usually grouped in with the Dunedin sound musicians that emerged in the early 1980s. The band has retained the same four members from 1982 to the present day.

Able Tasmans were an indie pop band from Auckland, New Zealand, initially formed as a duo in 1983. They released four albums and two EPs on Flying Nun Records before splitting up in 1996.

<i>Fall in a Hole</i> 1983 live album by The Fall

Fall in a Hole is a live album by the Fall, recorded in Auckland in August 1982 and released in December 1983 on the Flying Nun label of New Zealand.

<i>Silverbeet</i> (album) 1993 studio album by The Bats

Silverbeet is an album by the New Zealand band the Bats, released in 1993.

<i>Submarine Bells</i> 1990 studio album by The Chills

Submarine Bells is an album by New Zealand group the Chills, released in 1990. This was the band's first album on a major label, as Martin Phillipps signed to Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Slash Records, to release the album in the U.S. The album reached #1 on the New Zealand album charts and had significant support from American college radio. The album was awarded gold status in New Zealand and represents the peak of the Chills' popularity at home. It is considered to be one of the defining albums of the Dunedin sound. The supporting tour for Submarine Bells culminated in a triumphant home-coming concert in Dunedin Town Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Scott (musician)</span>

Robert Scott is a New Zealand musician. He is a part of indie rock bands The Clean and The Bats, playing bass for The Clean, and guitar/vocals for The Bats, and writing songs for both. Other bands with which he has been involved include The Magick Heads, Electric Blood, Gina Rocco & the Rockettes, and Greg Franco & The Wandering Bear. Scott has also released several solo albums in several genres, including alternative rock, experimental instrumentals, and traditional folk music.

<i>Melt</i> (Straitjacket Fits album) 1990 studio album by Straitjacket Fits

Melt is the second album from Dunedin, New Zealand band Straitjacket Fits. It was the last to feature the original line-up of Shayne Carter, Andrew Brough, John Collie and David Wood; Brough was to leave before the third album, Blow. The album reached no. 13 on the New Zealand music charts, and sold 40,000 copies in the United States.

<i>The Venus Trail</i> 1993 studio album by The 3Ds

The Venus Trail is an album by the New Zealand band the 3Ds, released in 1993. The album was released by Merge Records in the United States.

<i>The Politics of Dancing</i> (Re-Flex album) 1983 studio album by Re-Flex

The Politics of Dancing is the debut studio album by the English new wave band Re-Flex, recorded in late 1982 and released in November 1983 by EMI Records, and was, until September 2010, their only officially released studio album. John Punter of Roxy Music fame produced the album at Utopia Studios in London, England.

<i>Pain Makes You Beautiful</i> 1993 studio album by The Judybats

Pain Makes You Beautiful is the third album by the American band the Judybats, released in 1993 by Sire Records. The album contains the band's most successful single, "Being Simple", which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

<i>Fear of God</i> (The Bats album) 1991 studio album by The Bats

Fear of God is an album by the New Zealand band the Bats, released in 1991. It was their first album to be distributed by Mammoth.

<i>New Funky Nation</i> 1990 studio album by Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.

New Funky Nation is the debut studio album by the Samoan-American hip hop band Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. It was released in 1990 via 4th & B'way Records/Island Records. Recording sessions took place at Image Recording Studios and Paramount Studios in Hollywood from 1989 to 1990. Production was handled by the Dust Brothers, John O'Brien, Joe Nicolo of the Butcher Bros., Tony G., Suga Pop and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. The album peaked at #33 in New Zealand, #74 in the UK and #117 in the United States.

<i>Vehicle</i> (The Clean album) 1990 studio album by The Clean

Vehicle is the first full-length studio album by New Zealand group The Clean. It was released in 1990 by Flying Nun and Rough Trade Records. Much of the material was written for the band's reunion tour in the late 1980s. Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis offered to record The Clean after seeing them play in London, after which Vehicle was produced during a three-day session. The album was engineered by Ken Kennedy and notable producer Alan Moulder, who was suggested by Travis.

<i>And Here Is Music for the Fireside</i> 1985 EP by The Bats

And Here Is 'Music for the Fireside' is an 1985 EP by New Zealand indie rock group The Bats.

<i>By Night</i> (EP) 1984 EP by The Bats

By Night is the debut recording of New Zealand indie rock group The Bats, released in 1984.

<i>The Deep Set</i> 2017 studio album by The Bats

The Deep Set is the ninth album by New Zealand band The Bats, released in 2017.

Here Come the Cars is the debut solo album by New Zealand musician David Kilgour, released in 1991. It was reissued by Flying Nun Records in 2004 and in 2012.

References

  1. "The Bats - The Law Of Things (2014)". Flying Nun.
  2. "The Law of Things - The Bats | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" via www.allmusic.com.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 465.
  4. 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 81.
  5. 1 2 Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 31.
  6. "The Bats | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  7. Kot, Greg (11 December 1992). "BATS ARE FLYING HIGH IN U.S." chicagotribune.com.
  8. "The Bats". The Bats.
  9. "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz.
  10. "The Bats - AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz.
  11. "Bats". Trouser Press. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  12. Schoemer, Karen (17 August 1990). "Sounds Around Town (Published 1990)". The New York Times via NYTimes.com.