Fruit Bats

Indie folk-rock outfit Fruit Bats originated as songwriter Eric D. Johnson’s four-track home recording endeavor before evolving into a live ensemble whose personnel rotated frequently, yet Johnson’s warm vocals and melodic approach remained fixed, frequently evoking a midpoint between Lennon and McCartney while citing the Byrds, the Kinks, and Supertramp among stated influences. Launched in the late ’90s, the endeavor moved through the 2000s and 2010s in a consistent though fluid manner while Johnson split his schedule among film scoring, sideman work in other groups, and Fruit Bats releases. The first album, Echolocation, surfaced in 2001 and ushered in a series of Sub Pop titles that encompassed 2005’s Spelled in Bones and 2011’s Tripper, the latter climbing to the Top 15 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. An EDJ solo set appeared in 2014, after which Johnson revived Fruit Bats in 2016 with Absolute Loser. Gold Past Life, issued in 2019, became the band’s first Merge release. Marking the twentieth anniversary of Echolocation, the eighth album The Pet Parade emerged in 2021; the same breezy yet bittersweet tone carried over to 2023’s A River Running to Your Heart.

Originally from Chicago, Eric D. Johnson—not to be mistaken for the Eric Johnson of Archers of Loaf or the similarly named guitar virtuoso—started composing on four-track in the mid-’90s and later formed the Velvet Underground-inspired indie-rock group I Rowboat. He also began exploring folk music alongside two I Rowboat colleagues, guitarist Dan Strack and drummer Brian Belval, thereby creating the earliest version of Fruit Bats. Once I Rowboat dissolved, Johnson broadened his circle by contributing guitar and banjo to Califone. Tim Rutili and Ben Massarella, the latter also founder of Perishable Records, encouraged Fruit Bats to cut an album for the label, yielding the trio’s 2001 debut, Echolocation.

Over the ensuing two years the ensemble toured and adjusted its roster, incorporating multi-instrumentalist Gillian Lisee while incorporating greater pop and experimental-rock elements. In 2002 Fruit Bats joined Sub Pop and issued their second album, Mouthfuls, the next spring. Two years after that, now based in Seattle and expanded to a quartet, the band delivered Spelled in Bones.

Following Spelled in Bones, Johnson paused Fruit Bats activity to serve as sideman for acts including the Shins and Vetiver. He reassembled the project in 2008 with a revised lineup featuring Christopher Sherman, Ron Lewis, Graeme Gibson, and Sam Wagster. The group returned to Chicago to record at Clava Studios—the same facility used for Echolocation—and emerged with 2009’s The Ruminant Band. Afterward Johnson devoted additional time to scoring independent films such as Our Idiot Brother, Ceremony, and Smashed, and 2011’s Tripper mirrored the more minimal method of his soundtrack work, with Johnson performing most instruments himself.

In November 2013 Johnson declared Fruit Bats retired, issuing a statement that read, “it’s been a long run and time for a change.” Less than two years later, after issuing the self-titled EDJ LP under his own name, he reclaimed the Fruit Bats moniker, announcing via social media in May 2015 plans for a new album. A subsequent tour with My Morning Jacket preceded the spring 2016 arrival of Absolute Loser on Easy Sound Recording Company, with Johnson listed as the sole official member.

After completing full-band tours behind Absolute Loser, Johnson joined longtime friend and Vetiver principal Andy Cabic for a dual solo trek. The intimate performances featured the pair alternating selections from their catalogs along with chosen covers; audience enthusiasm prompted the duo to enter a proper studio and approximate those shows. The six-song joint Fruit Bats/Vetiver EP In Real Life (Live at Spacebomb Studios) captured the results and appeared in early 2019.

Fruit Bats then signed with Merge and resurfaced in June 2019 with Gold Past Life. Produced by Thom Monahan (Neko Case, Peter Bjorn & John), the set included contributions from Greta Morgan (Springtime Carnivore), Meg Duffy (Hand Habits), and Neal Casal. The project’s eighth album, The Pet Parade, was instead produced by Josh Kaufman (the Hold Steady, Bonny Light Horseman) and incorporated remote input from keyboardist Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) and fiddler Jim Becker (Iron & Wine); Merge released it in March 2021. Later that year Johnson issued a track-for-track rendering of the Smashing Pumpkins’ 1993 album Siamese Dream under the Fruit Bats name, recorded solo at home. The following year saw the retrospective Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud: Slow Growers, Sleeper Hits and Lost Songs (2001–2021). Divided into two parts, the first gathered favorite studio tracks from across the catalog while the second collected home recordings, demos, B-sides, unreleased material, and other deeper catalog items. Johnson reconvened with multi-instrumentalist Josh Mease, keyboardist Frank LoCrasto, bassist David Dawda, and drummer Josh Adams for the next original collection. Co-produced by Johnson and Jeremy Harris, A River Running to Your Heart appeared on Merge in April 2023.