The Bats – Daddy's Highway

Complete with five bonus tracks from the bands early EPs, this album is full of the haunting beauty and bittersweet melodies the four-piece have become so loved for. One of the outstanding New Zealand albums from the 1980s, from the lo-fi pop hook of North by North through to the gentle drone of Tragedy, Daddy's Highway displays a quietly powerful sound that immediately tugs you in. There is a quirky energy throughout - such as Block of Wood - that also glows with shimmering harmonies, whispered vocals, reeling basslines and a sweet sense of despair that is as catchy as it is thought-provoking.