Fruit Bats' 2009 release, Ruminant Band made my Top Ten list...but I realized that I hadn't thoroughly explored this energizing band's previous work.
On Dainon's recommendation, I turned to Mouthfuls, their 2003 release, and was instantly smitten.
Sometimes words and feelings get tangled up in the knots in my stomach, and nothing I write provides any clarity. It's then that I truly appreciate those artists who can take all the mess and extract truth from it cleanly. For someone who loves words as much as I do, I believe that when used sparingly they can penetrate deeper than if weighed down by excess and explanation.
Fruit Bats do this with charming deftness on Mouthfuls. Lyrically it's abstract, the narratives not fleshed out or delved into, and the few words sung are done so repeatedly, as if letting the chorus steep in itself. It's an unhurried album. It says what it wants to say, and doesn't seem to need to explain itself. It's deliberate, but sunny and inviting and playful.
It's the perfect complement to an evening like this one, where the orange sky is letting my skin soak up some of the last of this golden day, and the cyclone of words in my head is slowing down and exiting with every exhale. I think I'll let this album stay awhile.
When U Love Somebody- Fruit Bats
I wish I had more power and influence over this world to the extent that I could place a copy of this album in every person's hands. I don't want to buy the world a Coke. I simply want them to have Mouthfuls. Is that so wrong? No! So right.
ReplyDeleteThank you for adoring this.