Fruit Bats - A River Running To Your Heart

Album Review

Apr 12

Fruit Bats

A River Running To Your Heart

Though radical new ground isn't being broken on this album, it is still a refreshing change in tone and an enjoyable experience to hear Johnson's evolution.

A River Running To Your Heart is technically the tenth studio album released by the Fruit Bats, a project created by Eric D. Johnson in 2001. This is the first full-concept album since 2021's The Pet Parade, with a full Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream cover album and a retrospective demo album released in the years between.

In this latest venture, the trademark crooner keeps in touch with his indie-folk/folk-pop roots but decides to expand upon the indie and the pop on this project.

This leads to a different sound that longtime Fruit Bats listeners might not expect at first, with a full-blown synth-heavy and afro-beat-influenced album opener that sounds like a score Hans Zimmer might create. The semi-psychedelic trance of the introduction ripples into the second track, "Rushing River Valley," where Johnson asks, "Could I be your North Star? Or Maybe a river running to your heart?"

The bubbly 80's bassline of the track sets the tone for the mood to come on the rest of ARRTYH, where an excited-sounding Johnson veers into a cleaner, more modern sound than what Fruit Bats fans got from previous records.

In a 2022 interview with Amoeba's What's in My Bag?, he said that the palette speaking to him the most at the moment was "early to mid-nineties synthy, dreamy, beautiful" pop songs. Think Julie Crews from the Twin Peaks soundtrack.

These influences appear on this record with some, if not all, of the songs, including some cool ambient synthesizer stream dripping throughout the instrumentation.

The first leg of this album is Johnson in his new bag with the electronic pop sounds, but old Fruit Bats fans will get what they're looking for on tracks four and five, where the excellent "Tacoma" sits. A classic-sounding Johnson provides a sweet acoustic melody and pleads to return to "old Tacoma." The vocal harmonies in this track are an album highlight.

Some songs, like "It All Comes Back," take Johnson's skillful acoustic work and blends it with sounds reminiscent of Tame Impala or Homeshake.

It works well, but might leave some wishing for Johnson and the Fruit Bats to dive even further into their newfound electronic proclivities. It sounds more like Johnson is trying to find the perfect balance between indie folk and synth-pop and creating tracks that old and new fans can enjoy.

Throughout ARRTYH, you will find rich textured soundscapes on songs like "Sick of This Feeling", hardly ever sounding too eclectic to pick out the individual pieces in the ensemble. You even get a couple classic Fruit Bats tracks like "Waking Up in Los Angeles," which sounds like it could have been a hidden track on 2009's The Ruminant Band.

A River Running To Your Heart feels like Johnson found a new sound for himself, and it's commendable not veering too far from it on this record. Still, some might miss the folksy storytelling that Fruit Bats were known for in previous albums.

However, some of the less invested lyrics on this album could be a consequence of the shift towards pop with a deeper production value. "The Deep Well" is a profound and beautifully layered track, but it repeats the words "never going to the deep well" or some alteration of that for too long.

Not to say there aren't some standout lyrics on this album, specifically on tracks like "Jesus Tap Dancing Christ" or "Rushin' River Valley," where Johnson sounds like he has the most to say, yearning for love or the sacredness of "home."

Does A River Running to Your Heart make for a rather memorable album? Not particularly. That said, there are still standout tracks that deserve a re-listen or two and what’s more - there’s a little something for everyone.

Though radical new ground isn't being broken on this album, it is still a refreshing change in tone from the Fruit Bats and to hear Johnson's evolution as a musician, proving that after a career spanning 20 years, you can still try a new sound without alienating the audience who got you there in the first place.