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Album Details

• Artist: Fruit Bats
• Album: Mouthfuls
• Label: Sub Pop
• Year of Release: 2003
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-08-19

Sub Pop has been a bit of high point the last year with these quirky, rootsy acts. For instance, Iron & Wine was one of the best things to happen to Sub Pop (besides Nirvana). Holopaw and Postal Service have done them well too. Now it's time for Fruit Bats, Eric Johnson's (Califone) recent project. They have released their debut album on Perishable but Sub Pop caught wind of the band and scooped them up for their sophomore release. While not quite as compelling as some of Sub Pop's more recent releases, The Fruit Bats do offer up some pretty decent songs in the folk/rock genre. I would think that the Fruit Bats may have been better off in the psychedelic 60's but here they are, stuck in the new Millennium. Listen to the lethargic "Lazy Eye" for an example of what Eric and company are capable of with slow paced music. The highlight of Fruit Bats is actually Eric's voice. He has a voice that really works for this type of music. The first couple of tracks really stand out where I tended to get lost in the second half of the album. The songs were almost too slow paced. "Rainbow Sign" clips along a nice trot with some fun sounding harmonies. The album has a warm overall appeal to it but some may lose the overall charm in this. I have a feeling that the Fruit Bats will just get better over time.

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