ACCLAIMED ARTIST FRUIT BATS RETURNS WITH INTIMATE NEW ALBUM BABY MAN
OUT SEPTEMBER 12TH ON MERGE RECORDS
LISTEN TO NEW ALT-FOLK TRACK “STUCK IN MY HEAD AGAIN” HERE
NEW FRUIT BATS FALL TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED:
AN INTIMATE, SOLO EVENING WITH ERIC D. JOHNSON
Nashville, TN – Critically acclaimed artist Fruit Bats announces the forthcoming release of the new album Baby Man on September 12th via Merge Records. Self-accompanied by solo guitar, piano or an occasional touch of synth, GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Eric D. Johnson (who performs under the Fruit Bats moniker) has made an album unlike anything in Fruit Bats’ celebrated canon.
Fruit Bats just announced a fall tour – An Intimate, Solo Evening with Eric D. Johnson – in support of Baby Man. Stops will include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Brooklyn and Cambridge, MA. See full list of dates below.
Baby Man comprises 10 captivating solo performances with minimalist instrumentation and maximalist execution. Johnson’s use of space throughout the album is often as enchanting as the music and his remarkable voice, which is as expressive as ever. Johnson reunited with Thom Monahan, who engineered, produced and mixed Baby Man. The result of the collaboration is the most intimate work Fruit Bats has recorded to date. Listen to the standout new single “Stuck In My Head Again” HERE.
“Right now this world is big and weird and horrible and yeah, sometimes even beautiful in short bursts. A loud place,” says Johnson. “But if you wanna take a quick moment and get eye-level with me, hear me whisper a dream in your ear, I got a new album that will do that. Here’s the first song from it. It’s a dream all right, but really a fever dream of sorts. The narrator is hazy, and in a haze, and sometimes I’m not even sure who they are. And yeah, it’s like how when you’re stuck in your own head you can get a song stuck in your head over and over. Hopefully this one gets in there (in a good way). Love you all.”
Johnson lays himself bare on Baby Man with some of the rawest material he has written. Monahan pushed the vocals up front in the mix, which elevates both the command and the vulnerability of each performance. Between the substance and the sonics, listening deeply to Baby Man is a powerful and emotive aural experience. This is felt right away on the album opener “Let You People Down,” as well as the contemplative title track.
Johnson honors the recent loss of a special friend in the beautiful “Creature From The Wild,” a heartfelt homage that passionate dog lovers will immediately relate to. The philosophical “Building A Cathedral” questions what is truly important in the scope of a life, and what is not. Baby Man closes with an ambient, bluesy piano lead-in to the aching and soulful “Year Of The Crow.” The song is a fitting conclusion to a remarkable record from a beloved and revered artist who continues to conceive music, convey emotion and create connections in meaningful ways.
Baby Man is the follow-up to 2023’s critically acclaimed release A River Running to Your Heart (Merge). Johnson is also a member of the GRAMMY-nominated indie trio Bonny Light Horseman.
To pre-order/pre-save Baby Man, click HERE
For press information about Fruit Bats, please contact:
Jim Flammia or Kai Nanfelt at All Eyes Media
Fruit Bats Summer Tour Dates
Aug 1 – Seattle, WA – Occidental Mall
Aug 2-3 – Portland, OR – Pickathon
Aug 6 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Brewing
Aug 7 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird
Aug 8 – Providence, RI – Fete
Aug 9 – Portland, ME – On the Ocean Fest
Aug 11 – Charlton, MA – The Pavilion at Tree House Brewing
Aug 13 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
Aug 14 – Hamden, CT – Space Ballroom
Aug 15 – Queens, NY – The Rockaway Hotel
Aug 16 – Manchester, VT – Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots Festival
New Fruit Bats Fall Tour Dates
Oct 16 – Ojai, CA – Ojai Valley Woman’s Club
Oct 17 – Los Angeles, CA – Pico Union Project
Oct 18 – San Francisco, CA –The Chapel (Two Shows)
Oct 20 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
Oct 22 – Stoughton, WI – Stoughton Opera House
Oct 23 – Minneapolis, MN – Icehouse
Oct 25 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School of Folk Music
Oct 27 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
Oct 29 – Toronto, ON – Longboat Hall
Oct 30 – Buffalo, NY – The Ninth Ward
Oct 31 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios
Nov 1 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Nov 2 – Cambridge, MA – Sinclair
Stay up to date on news and tour dates by visiting FruitBatsMusic.com