PHOTOS BY: JEREMY ROSS

Los Angeles, CA – (1/28/10) – The Fruit Bats have lingered around for years now, recreating the band’s lineup with each album (since 2001) and constantly expanding the precincts between country-pop, indie pop, Traditional Americana, and sun-drenched pop folk genres. The band hasn’t released an album in 4 years mainly due to Eric’s involvement in Vetiver and the Shins.  But their latest 2009 effort, The Ruminant Band, surfaces naturally as their strongest, most dense sounding record to date. Johnson and the Bats keep the country-pop vibe and add a bit of Salon, 1950’s Sun records touch while progressing on their American traditional rock/pop roots and the spirit of that classic 60’s sound alive.  All of this was on display Thursday night in Los Angeles at the Echoplex.

The band was in full swing playing beautiful sweet tunes.  Their music always stays away from rough, dark chaotic weather in favor of sunlit country-pop/rock and sweet summer desert winds.  No matter what influence you hear in the Bats (and there’s quite a lot), they’ve never strayed away from the one thing they’ve done extremely well: beautiful folk-pop with a lot of smarts and a whole hell of a lot of heart.

Standouts included “Primitive Man”, “My Unusual Friend”, and the lovely, wistful “The Blessed Breeze”.  They played a sped version of their classic, “Canyon Girl” that had all of us looking for a hand to hold. It was a nice evening full of sun soaked kisses that warmed our souls on a cold night in Los Angeles.

Every time I listen to the Fruit Bats, they always leave me wanting more. I don’t mean “more” as in more of their music per say, but more substance.  I’m not even discrediting the band for this feeling.  They provide me with gentle, happy feelings in my stomach every listen.  But the Fruit Bats lack a certain creative courage that always has me going back to the band, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. A major influence on Eric Johnson and the Fruit Bats sound, GZM were the type of band that has all the hot, sun burnt steel characteristics that the Fruit Bats possess, yet they then bend that steel into something more challenging (for the listener and for themselves).  Where Fruit Bats are pure happy summer country pop indie rock… GZM were THAT and a peculiarly sugary and capricious cross between progressive indie rock, psychedelic, and pure pop bliss.

BUT, I neither encourage or discourage the Fruit Bats challenging themselves to this level because I don’t think they need to go their no do I think they can even obtain and stretch to reach THAT level.

When I hear their latest album, The Ruminant Band, live at the Echoplex, I always find myself coming back to describing the Fruit Bats and Johnson’s work, generally, as “nice.” That’s not me putting down the Fruit Bats or the record.  When it comes to lovely sun-soaked pop with elegance and precision, the Fruit Bats excel and are a “nice” listen.  But Johnson never takes the Fruit Bats to unfathomable grounds he’s never seen; nor do I feel he has to.  As long as you accept that, then you won’t expect anything out of the ordinary fantastic or ear popping terrible.  You will always get what the Fruit Bats can deliver and that’s really… nice.

I can see the Fruit Bats, unfortunately, being passed over due to their sound having a redundant/familiar tone to it (al the Shins/Apple in Stereos). If true, that’d be a disappointment because Fruit Bats should be the standard for solid, good pop music that, in YOUR ideal world, everyone would know their name from the radio.

Then again, maybe giving them the lack of attention they deserve would inspire the Bats to be more like Gorky

(in my ideal world).

3 GUNS