Fruit Bats (Photo by Chantel Anderson)
Indie rock band Fruit Bats release a new album, A River Running to Your Heart, via Merge Records on April 14! Then, Eric D. Johnson and his group perform in DC at 9:30 Club on Saturday, April 22.
Not long ago, Fruit Bats released audio for album single “It All Comes Back.” “It All Comes Back” follows previously released singles “Rushin’ River Valley” and “Waking Up in Los Angeles” from A River Running to Your Heart, providing a diverse feel for what to expect from the full album. The newly launched song is psychedelic and spacey, with an in-the-pocket backbeat, droning keys and Eric D. Johnson’s signature unique but effortless chord changes.
Stream “It All Comes Back” by Fruit Bats on YouTube:
A River Running to Your Heart is Fruit Bats’ tenth full-length and first since The Pet Parade in 2021. The release follows Johnson’s involvement in indie folk trio Bonny Light Horseman’s critically acclaimed 2022 album, Rolling Golden Holy.
Fruit Bats’ new release finds the artist 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.
As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson’s family moved around a lot, but it wasn’t until he became a touring musician years later that motion became a central part of his identity. That transient lifestyle stoked an enduring reverence for the world he watched pass by through a van window. “We lost some time / But we can make it back / Let’s take it easy on ourselves, okay?” sings a world-weary but ultimately reassuring Johnson in the song’s opening lines. It’s the kind of performance that makes you hope Fruit Bats stays in this one place, at least for a little while longer.
Fruit Bats
W/ HC McEntire
9:30 Club
Saturday, April 22
Doors @ 6pm
$25
All ages