Like Bats
“Midwest Nothing”
(TBD)

It’s weird to think that Like Bats hasn’t put out any new material since 2010’s “Look On the Bright Side,” let alone a proper full-length. Maybe it’s because I never stopped listening to their records, but here we are, 2012 and they’ve put out “Midwest Nothing,” a record in which the Hoosier three-piece is coming into their own.

Looking past the The Lawrence Arms-esque sound that they’ve established on “Bright Side” and their demo, Like Bats has musically gone for songs that are either breakneck or slow and heavy. Still intact, however, are the catchy melodies and unforgiving, self-deprecating lyrics.

Check “My Favorite Kind of Cigarette,” a song that begins as your standard pop-punk fanfare before slowing down to an off-time part where singer Mike Duda screams “What am I? Some shitty song you used to hum?” There’s also an electric version of their previously released acoustic song, “Double or Nothing,” that has found some new life on this recording.

By and large “Midwest Nothing” is great debut LP for Like Bats. It’s consistent and it shows the kind of potential that this band has within its grasp. Even a song like “This Haunted Life,” which throws off the pacing of the record, is still a great standalone track. This is easily one of the better records of the year, pop-punk or otherwise.

— Ryan Pangilinan