"I can't envision who I've become" sings Eric D. Johnson on "Cazadera," the fourth track on Gold Past Life, Fruit Bats' latest album. It's a simple line, one that could easily have been shrouded by the lush noise accompanying Johnson's voice, but one that perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being adrift in the liminal present — a sentiment that pervades the entire album.
True to its name, Gold Past Life sifts through vignettes and memories of days gone by: some rose-tinted from time and nostalgia; others clarified by hindsight.
Johnson's maps his travels through the past with souvenirs and landmarks, as if attempting to catalogue his memories by situating them in time and space. Sometimes he recalls his attempts to retrace moments he was absent from, like in "Drawn Away," a full-bodied yet breezy number where Johnson sings, "My love and I went looking for the hospital where she was born."
Gold Past Life is dreamy and colourful, but poignant nonetheless. All those feeling lost, wherever they may be, can take comfort in the tender reminiscing of Gold Past Life.
(Merge Records)True to its name, Gold Past Life sifts through vignettes and memories of days gone by: some rose-tinted from time and nostalgia; others clarified by hindsight.
Johnson's maps his travels through the past with souvenirs and landmarks, as if attempting to catalogue his memories by situating them in time and space. Sometimes he recalls his attempts to retrace moments he was absent from, like in "Drawn Away," a full-bodied yet breezy number where Johnson sings, "My love and I went looking for the hospital where she was born."
Gold Past Life is dreamy and colourful, but poignant nonetheless. All those feeling lost, wherever they may be, can take comfort in the tender reminiscing of Gold Past Life.