5 Fruit Bats Mouthfuls Sub Pop | 2003 | Album Biography Comments (0) Read Full Page Digg Review Add del.icio.us   Chicago's Fruit Bats (a duo comprised of ex-Califone member Eric Johnson and cohort Gillian Lisee) describe their music on their website as both 'cinematic pop' and 'bizarro folk-rock'. Truth be told, the sound tends to bounce right in the middle of those two somewhat disparate ideas. Flexing the same muscles previously developed by bands such as Palace and The Essex Green, this album (the group's second) is a gentle affair full of airy vocals and the lulling strum of acoustic guitars. There is the occasional trill of a keyboard to keep things grounded in the here and now, but this CD most definitely takes its cues from the spacey yet earthy sounds of albums like 'Preflyte' and 'Surf's Up'. Although the album does tend to hold true to those albums' ideals in terms of sound, there's not much else to grab on to. The songs drift along steadily and don't tend to intrude one's own thoughts but that seems to be what's needed to grab the listener's attention. The lyrics don't do much to keep the songs buoyant either tending to meander through some poetic imagery that, as a whole, doesn't end up making much sense. Surely this record will have its audience and be well loved by some, but for this reviewer, the whole affair could have used a little more bite. Bob Ham Comments (0) Help Support Kevchino - Use these links to buy new music.

Reviews Fruit Bats - Spelled In Bones (9 out of 10) Amy Wagner Releases Fruit Bats - Spelled In Bones Sub Pop - 2005 - Album Fruit Bats - Mouthfuls Sub Pop - 2003 - Album Artist Website Fruit Bats - Official Website