Fruit Bats – Holy Rose

One of our very favorite artists Eric D. Johnson, aka Fruit Bats, just announced a new record, The Pet Parade, that’ll be released on March 5th via Merge Records. Eric says, “It’s a floaty record with lots of hypnotic cry-alongs, but there are also some bona fide jams in there for swaying to.”

Have a listen to the incandescent first single, “Holy Rose” below.

“Holy Rose” is possibly the most “direct” song on The Pet Parade. I wrote this about the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County and was finishing it up right when fire season was raging in California. My wife grew up in Sonoma County and just had to sit there and watch her childhood burn down. This is a love song to the native West Coasters.

Many songs on the album were written before the pandemic, but personnel including producer Kaufman, drummers Joe Russo and Matt Barrick, singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels, panist Thomas Bartlett, and fiddler Jim Becker had to record their parts far and away ay home.

The Pet Parade marks 20 years of EDJ playing as Fruit Bats. “I’m still really excited to make records,” Eric says. “Lucky and happy and maybe happier that things went slower for me. I’m savoring it a lot more.”

As always, Eric’s lyrics are diaphanous and his voice is filled with light. It’s been amazing to hear his sound evolve as he’s moved from the midwest to Portland and finally in the heart of California where his music has become more and more radiant and his work has become increasingly prolific. Gold Past Life was by far my most-listened to record in 2019, and Bonny Light Horseman, the Grammy-nominated record from the eponymous supergroup consisting of Johnson, Anais Mitchell, and Josh Kaufman, topped many end of year lists. He also quietly released a full cover album of the Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream over the summer. My heart melted upon hearing “Holy Rose,” with its gentleness giving way to fuzzy, acidic guitar work. At a time where it still feels like everything is on fire, we’re lucky to have The Pet Parade to look forward to. Fruit Bats music always inspires a bit of hope.

Pre-order the record today. You can also get a The Pet Parade bandana!