TRILOGIES

Echolocation by Fruit Bats

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Mouthfuls by Fruit Bats

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The Ruminant Band by Fruit Bats

A perfect three album arch by Fruit Bats. Their first album Echolocation is slightly electronic, folky and full of early 2000's indie rock goodness. This album is lovely and not smug like a lot of their contemporaries sound in hindsight. It was created by Eric Johnson and a fairly big crew of his friends and recorded in Chicago. It is very much an album about the midwest. Real and imagined.

Their second album Mouthfuls picks up where Echolocation ends but, overall, feels fuller and little more epic. There are some great strings and horns added to their sound. The electronics are still there but used a little more sparingly and more as instruments than sound effects. The midwestern, rust belt stories continue but feel bigger to me on this album.

Their third album is not part of this trilogy. While it is a good album and has definitely grown on me over the years, it feels and sounds like a very different band to me. Maybe it was the whole 70's vibe that Eric Johnson was going for but it just didn't sound the same to me.

Their fourth album, The Ruminant Band, completes the trilogy. It really picks up where Mouthfuls leaves off. The stories being told are grander and filled with a weariness that comes with age and experience. The midwest shines once again. Shines like a neon bar sign or lights from an old county fair. The electronics are so subtle that I can't even recall if there are any other than the Chamberlin and Mellotron on the closing song? It's a beautiful album.

Take a listen to the album's here: