Sub Pop
Dripping with natural sweetness Fruit Bats harvest the best of summer.
Conjuring memories of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon for their fourth outing Fruit Bats revisit the surging acoustic strums and twang-tinged pop melodies the So-Cal quintet established on 2003’s Mouthfuls. Hike up your petticoats and show off some fancy footwork as lakeside dreamer Eric D. Johnson croons to you in a tone that echoes Flaming Lips vocalist Wayne Coyne whilst edging towards Bob Dylan’s high nasally drawl. The Ruminant Band lets the dog days of summer run as free and easy as the guitar slides gentle chord progressions shimmering tambourines and spiraling melodic tangents.
Don’t be misled though — Fruit Bats are more pop than the band’s folk ramblings and extended alt-country jams would have us believe. The Ruminant Band’s soulful sweetness is bolstered by more electrified cuts including the reverb-fueled title track. Majestic simplicity dominates the majority of the album’s 11 songs as the “Primitive Man” courts his sun-kissed “Hobo Girl.” Further on down the forest path the enchanting “Teguchigalpa” recalls the glowing warmth of campfire coal while the lover’s treat “Beautiful Morning Light” will have you staying up all night to watch the sun break through the treetops.
