Recorded raw and live in front of an audience at the Albion Rooms studio, Bat Man is a series of short sharp punk rock jabs. If no-one informed you otherwise, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were listening to Queens Of The Stone Age covering an outcut from The Clash’s debut LP.
Introduced by frontman Charlie James declaring in a cockney snarl “This one’s about a mugging in the street in Southampton. He had a bat and I had nothin-k”, a full force, pounding bombardment of brooding, cocky riffs and militant drumming ensues for two and a half minutes, ever so faintly reminiscent of the original 1960s batman theme, as the singer recalls legging it from a self-styled caped crusader, fuming that the police were nowhere to be found, as “they were too busy beating up a black man”.
You’re not going to find this song on streaming services or YouTube as it’s only available through The Dead Freights’ mailing list, which you can join by checking out their social media or clicking here:
https://fan.openstage.live/DeadFreights
You’ll be able to catch them supporting The Libertines on tour later in 2021.
Just so you have something to listen to, check out The Dead Freights’ past single Sufferin’ Safari below: