In this often reflexive and world-weary era of popular music, there seems little room for unabashed wonder, or joy without suspicion. Some regrettable fear planted within each of us around the 7th grade or thereabouts still makes it hard to dance, hard to hold hands, hard to say “I love you,” at least without a quick caveat or escape route at the ready. Over the course of three records, the last two on Sub Pop (2003’s Mouthfuls and 2005’s Spelled in Bones), Eric D. Johnson’s Fruit Bats have looked for ways to file down the cynical edge of modern life and found many. Using bright melodies, defiantly major-key chord structures, natural imagery mixed with the occasional blazing insight and tender observation, the Fruit Bats have never shied away from darkness, but more uncommon in this day and age, they’ve refused to shy away from light.

With The Ruminant Band, this tradition continues in characteristically rich and involving fashion. Consider the title: it’s no coincidence or shortcut that the name of the second track was plucked to represent the album as a whole. “Band” is the operative word here, as the Fruit Bats lineup has expanded to five, who in turn expand the sonic scope of Johnson’s songs to include the barn-floor stomp of “The Hobo Girl” and the Fleetwood Mac-esque shimmy of the title track. On a recent message to fans on the band’s website, Johnson promised on behalf of the Bats, “We are going to choogle for you.” And while the potential for chooglin’ has always existed in some form all the way back to Johnson’s earliest 4-track experiments, The Ruminant Band sees it flower in full.

Now ponder the…

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Spelled In Bones

Mouthfuls

Echolocation

The Ruminant Band

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• Fruit Bats - My Unusual Friend (MP3)
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• Fruit Bats - Silent Life (MP3)
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• Fruit Bats - Lives of Crime (MP3)
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• Fruit Bats - A Bit of Wind (MP3)
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• Fruit Bats - Slipping through the Sensors (MP3)
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• Promo Photo - Fruit Bats 6_ Annie Beedy
• Promo Photo - Fruit Bats 5 _ Annie Beedy
• Promo Photo - Fruit Bats 4_ Annie Beedy
• Promo Photo - Fruit Bats 3 _ Annie Beedy
• Promo Photo - Fruit Bats 2_ Annie Beedy
• Promo Photo - Fruit Bats 1 _ Annie Beedy

• Bio - Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band bio (DOC)

• Press - Fruit Bats press kit (09)

• Cover - Spelled In Bones
• Cover - Mouthfuls
• Cover - The Ruminant Band

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• PopMatters review of Spelled in Bones
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• Pitchfork review of Mouthfuls