Music Industry News

New Zealand indie rock royals, The Bats, have recently had their heads down recording new music and have today announced their 11th full-length album, Corner Coming Up, out on October 17th via Flying Nun Records.

The new album strikes a very distinctive and familiar chord that exists in the fuzzy-loving hearts of fans all round the world. Throughout their 40 plus years of existence, and now with Corner Coming Up ready to share with the world, The Bats have stayed true to their roots, creating timeless music that continues to resonate with fans old and new.

Corner Coming Up was recorded at Chicks Studio in Port Chalmers by Flying Nun legend, Tex Houston, and is out digitally, and on peach or black vinyl LP and CD on 17th October 2025 via Flying Nun Records.

Pre-order Corner Coming Up here.

The Bats are Robert Scott, Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean and Malcolm Grant. Since their inception in Christchurch in 1982, The Bats’ music has earned a devoted following around the world, and they remain one of New Zealand’s most cherished and enduring exports. The band has a phenomenal ability to create melodies that linger long after the record has stopped spinning.

Today the band have also shared their brand new video single ‘Lucky Day’. Shot out of a suitcase by Marc Swadel, Julian Reid and Kermath, while on work trips, the accompanying lo-fi psychedelic video was shot in Florence, London, Tokyo, Doha, Taipei, Liverpool, Zagreb, Manchester and Hong Kong with the band filming themselves in Christchurch. This is the fourth Bats video by director Marc Swadel (who has previously worked with Crowded House, Thurston Moore, The Datsuns, Jonathan Bree, Sparks, Liam Finn, Duran Duran, Head Like a Hole and The Chemical Brothers).

“When I heard the name of the song, I thought – lucky cat! The Japanese name for this creature is Maneki-Neko – and in their folklore the Bat is a sign of good luck – the Bakeneko – so it felt like a random but fun idea, to take a cat along on work and shoot as we go.”  – Marc Swadel.

Check out all things The Bats below:
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