"We were halfway through high school when the music took hold!" Two guys, two girls, all atheists formed Zan Batman Circus in 2004 in Religious Education class at Dunedin high school Kavanagh College. Their influences include the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sonic Youth, Tool, Fiona Apple, Fur Patrol, Nine Inch Nails and the Smashing Pumpkins. The music is best described as an eternal struggle, sometimes lost to a drowning in lead guitar solo and jangly arpeggios, most of the time won over by a loud grungy riff. Like giving birth to a hammer, or making love to a naked flame, Zan Batman Circus' rawness is oddly pleasing.