A month on from the release of their sophomore EP Wish You Were Her, London’s Screech Bats present their eerie new video for single That Valentine Song below.
Despite the fact that they are donning facepaint, the quartet aren’t clowning around, with vocalist Esme Baker revealing: ‘This song is about that total piece of sh*t ex you can’t ever believe you dated and being completely and utterly devoted to a person who doesn’t give a f*ck about you: puts you down at every turn, leaches all your money, calls you a whore, tells you how to do your hair, make-up and what to wear… Looking back on the situation you realize that you’ve been taken for a fool and made to look like an absolute clown – a feeling we wanted to play on, hence the wonderful make-up by Rachael Delahunty. The smoke represents all the bullshittery you can’t see through, but every now and then things come into focus.’
Completed by Lexi Clark on Drums, Rio Hellyer on Bass and Kit Reeve on Guitar, Screech Bats began life as a side project of Hearts Under Fire. With a riot girl ethos at heart, the members gelled so well that as Kit and Lexi’s other band went on hiatus, they decided to stick together, with Baker recalling: “Initially, we had this idea to form a noisy, grungy, riot girl band, but we just can’t stay away from melodic punk! Band practices were fun and something we looked forward to every week. Having a laugh is very much at the core of everything we do, but we are also very serious about the band and the music we write.” As an act not featuring any male members, Screech Bats, unfortunately, find gender playing a prominent role in their career to date: ‘It’s awful, but it’s a reality for every non-male band out there. In our opinion, the whole industry needs to stop seeing gender as a genre – we need to see a shift towards just listening to the music, not having to consider what it is we have between our legs.’
Recording Wish You Were Her with James Routh of Sonic Boom Six, often until the early hours in a Blackpool rehearsal room, the band opted to strip back to a rawer form of their sound. The result is a gritty, heart-on-sleeve alternative rock with punk rock roots, topped off with distinctly British vocals à la Lower Than Atlantis; the influence of the likes of Against Me!, Alkaline Trio and Jimmy Eat World is clear. The band reveals: ‘Like all bands, our songwriting has matured and we have a much better idea what our style is after being together for 2.5 years. This new EP is a lot darker lyrically and the songs are more dynamic. Covering issues with mental health and recovery, death and grief, one night stands, aging, settling down and ending a relationship once it’s run its course, we always want to attack topics that are real, thought-provoking and unpredictable – not tired or cliché.’
Screech Bats Self-Released Sophomore EP ‘Wish You Were Her’ On 30/03/18.
Currently Announced Screech Bats Dates: 2nd June – Camden Rocks Festival at Dublin Castle, London | 4th June – JT Soar, Nottingham | 6th June – Moles, Bath | 7th June – The Arches, Coventry | 8th June – Percy’s Cafe Bar, Whitchurch | 29th June – The Star Inn, Guildford | 26th July – The Vic, Swindon | 27th July – The Chelsea Inn, Bristol | 28th July – Get Out The House Festival at The Hairy Dog – Derby