London’s Screech Bats have released their rock sophomore EP; Wish You Were Her. The new EP is a heart-on-sleeve alternative rock with punk rock roots, topped off with distinctly British vocals à la Lower Than Atlantis. Of the songwriting on the release, the band say:
“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, as well as death and grief, one night stands, aging, settling down and learning how and when to end 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.”
The album artwork was drawn by the bands vocalist; Esme Baker, tattooist and owner of Boileroom Tattoo in Guildford, who revealed:
“It’s about women who have, for entirely different reasons, had a profound impact on my life, but are no longer in it. Most of the lyrics are drawn from real experiences and on the whole we want to make dark, often ‘taboo’ topics, approachable with a positive message. Including a feminine face in the artwork to mirror the title but somehow censoring the eyes, gives the character anonymity, making whoever we are talking about a total enigma.” – Esme Baker
Screech Bats began life as a side project of Hearts Under Fire, which continued after that project reached a hiatus.
“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.” – Esme Baker
The line-up is noticeably devoid of any male members, the band reflect on this with the following statement:
“It’s awful – we are not a ‘girl band’ just because none of us have penises.We have been heckled, we’ve been asked “whose girlfriends we are?”, we’ve been groped whilst trying to load in amps and at one particular show, when our bassist was moving her gear, someone shouted “the stripper’s arrived”. 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.”
Watch their new single Get Better:
Pick up a copy of the EP from the bands Bigcartel.