On paper, the music of Fruit Bats might read like the sort of thing I'd usually run from. That said, over the last decade, Eric D. Johnson has crafted records containing music that's really warmed my old, cynical heart. It's just impossible to be so much of a bitter bastard listening to tunes like those on the new Fruit Bats record, The Landfill.
Opener "The Saddest Part of the Song" has a set of chord changes that give the cut an ascending vibe, one which Johnson seems to be expert at riding to good song-craft. It's a standout cut here on The Landfill, as is single "That Goddamn Sun", a composition which marries shades of light and dark moods atop a nimble hook. "Wild Pony Tower Moment", a highlight here, has a lush piano line that makes the cut feel like some lost Seventies AM radio staple, think "Midnight at the Oasis" feels in a big way. It's further indication of just how nimble Eric D. Johnson is at writing and performing material that feels so wonderfully familiar and instantly catchy.
The Landfill is another fine Fruit Bats record. There's a lot here that has a sort of classic rock sort of appeal, even on the mid-tempo songs. Still, with stuff like the title cut adding in a twangy guitar behind Eric D. Johnson's easy vocals, it's not a stretch to see how this material is hitting the same sweet spot that Jackson Browne and Dire Straits albums hit in decades past. That's not a knock because I kinda still have a lot of love in my heart for that kind of thing. After all, I'm not likely going to put on a Throbbing Gristle album on a nice summer day am I? Fruit Bats' The Landfill would make more sense for an afternoon chill-out session on the porch, or a nice drive in the sun.
The Landfill by Fruit Bats is out on Merge Records on June 12.
[Photo: Kelsey Gallagher]