Fruit Bats Tripper

Ten years and five albums in, Eric D Johnson's Fruit Bats continue to write and record undeniably pleasant, heartfelt songs. They shoot into the atmosphere with a sun-baked haze that's equal parts AM gold, Americana and coffee house, which would play as well in a prairie folk festival as at a Silver Lake hipster hangout. What's frustrating is that Johnson's songs, despite sounding great in the moments they fill the air, waver and disappear like a highway mirage in the rear-view. Production by Thom Monahan (who has also worked with Vetiver and Pernice Brothers) gives the album a radio-ready tightness emphasizing the surfaces and glinting keyboard details, overriding the band's acoustic core. A little rougher and a little less ready might have been better to unlock Tripper's heart. (Sub Pop)

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