Review Fix Exclusive: Bat House’s Nicole Pompei Talks New Album and More

Review Fix chats with Bat House’s Nicole Pompei who discusses the band’s origin, creative process, and album ‘Cold Sun.’

About the Band:

Boston-based psych/math rock quartet, Bat House, drop “Cold Sun” from their self-titled album. Due out April 14, 2017, the band recorded the self-produced LP at Converse’s Rubber Tracks studio in downtown Boston. The Deli Magazine raves the band are “the aural equivalent of kaleidoscopic jigsaw pieces from various puzzles that somehow seamlessly fit together– a complex sonic patchwork of shifting rhythmic structures, metered grooves, and infectious guitar chords.”

The unbound nature of free form expression cultivated in Boston’s DIY basement community brought Bat House together in early 2014. Comprised of Emmet Hayes (Bass & Vocals), Nicole Pompei (Drums), Alexandra Juleen (Guitar) and  Shane Blank (Guitar), the group’s sound draws inspiration from artists like Palm, Tame Impala, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Maps & Atlases, Tera Melos and TTNG. Throughout the summer of 2014, the band began writing in an underground rehearsal space called the Sound Museum, where they developed their sound and wrote their first handful of songs. The group then moved to a house deemed the “Banana Hammock”, where they recorded their first EP, ghosts, and parts of their upcoming 2017 release. During the two years spent in the house, the band established a sense of community in the DIY scene by hosting basement shows for nationally touring bands.

Review Fix: How did the band get together?

Nicole Pompei: We all met while attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Emmet and I had met our first semester and became friends because of mutual friends. Alexandra and Shane were buds since first semester and first met me while we were all at our first house show of college.

Me and Emmet played in another band together for a while and they lived together during our second year of school. Alexandra, Shane, and Pompy had been jamming, but with different bass players. Once we finally played with Emmet, the chemistry was electrifying, and the rest is essentially history.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2017?

Pompei: Tour west! Write a new album!

Review Fix: What makes your latest album special?

Pompei: We created almost the entirety of the record ourselves.

Review Fix: How do you want your music to affect people?

Pompei: We want them to ponder the feeling of alien abduction.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Pompei: A second album.

Review Fix: What makes your brand special?

Pompei: Our music is dynamic in the sense that it is technically complex yet emotionally driven. It’s chaotic, but still has ‘pop-esque’ sensibilities within the melodies. Our live shows incorporate raw, emotionally charged performances featuring floral or brightly patterned clothing, other-wordly visual projections, and samples between songs.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Pompei: Our writing process is very collaborative and we typically write our songs during jam sessions. We all bring individual ideas — sometimes as small as just one riff. We can spend anywhere from a day to weeks developing the idea and building up the groundwork of the song. We often refine the songs after playing them live.

Review Fix: What’s your standout song on the album How was it written?

Pompei: ‘Yarn’ began as a few riffs that Shane had been working on. We jammed on the parts for a few weeks; eventually stringing them cohesively together. The song really came into its own after a handful of live performances. Our songs typically meander their way to their final form after a lot of improvisation on during live sets.