by Jason Ankeny & Tim SendraYet another outgrowth of the seminal Clean, the Bats were an institution on the New Zealand music scene, their melancholy jangle-pop sound and infectious melodies consistently defining the kiwi-rock aesthetic at its very best. The Bats were formed in Christchurch in 1982 by ex-Clean bassist Robert Scott, ex-Toy Love bassist Paul Kean, singer/multi-instrumentalist Kaye Woodward and drummer Malcolm Grant; with Scott adopting lead vocal and guitar duties as well as serving as the groups chief songwriter, they issued their debut By Night in 1984, the first in a series of EPs which also included 1985s And Here Is Music for the Fireside! and 1986s Made Up in Blue. (All three were subsequently collected as Compiletely Bats.) The Bats finally released a full-length album, the stunning Daddys Highway, in 1987; soon after the group went on hiatus, with Scott participating in a Clean reunion tour and Woodward giving b...