Fruit Bats "A River Running to Your Heart"
FORMAT | LP
A River Running to Your Heart, the new album from Eric D. Johnson's long-running folk rock outfit Fruit Bats, represents the fullest realization of his creative vision to date. It’s a sonically diverse effort that largely explores the importance of what it means to be home, both physically and spiritually. And while that might seem like a peculiar focus for an artist who’s constantly in motion, for Fruit Bats, home can take many formsfrom the obvious to the obscure. The album will land in stores on CD, LP & Peak Vinyl LP (opaque blue & white color vinyl) on April 14th, 2023.Self-produced by Johnson a first for Fruit Bats with Jeremy Harris at Panoramic House just north of San Francisco, it’s Fruit Bats’ tenth full-length release. The album finds the project in the middle of a people-powered climb leading to the biggest shows, loudest accolades, and most enthusiastic new fans in Fruit Bats history! It’s hard to pinpoint a single reason for this mid-career resurgence. But after two decades of making music, hard-earned emotional maturity has clearly seeped into Johnson’s already inviting songs, resulting in a sound that’s connected with audiences like no other previous version of the band.Johnson, also a co-founder of Grammy nominated outfit Bonny Light Horseman, developed part of the album organically through long studio jams with his ace back-up (guy 1 uy2 guy2). This is in sharp contrast to his most foundational works, which would often sprout from 4-track demos he recorded on his own. It makes these songs feel closer to what it's like to see Fruit Bats live, where they can let loose a little & lean into their hypnotic Dead-meets-Wilco psych pop impulses. First single "Rushin' River Valley" is a breezy, kinetic jam blending many trademark elements of Fruit Bats' songwriting: a driving rhythm, subtle instrumental layers, higher-intoned vocal range, a probing personal dialogue, invigorating melodies, and chord progressions that slowly build toward something a feeling bigger than each chord on its own.
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