Spelled in Bones is the third album by American folk-rock band Fruit Bats, released in 2005.

Artist/Band Information

Fruit Bats are an American rock band formed in 1997 in Chicago. Noted as an early entrant into the folk-rock boom of the early 2000’s, the group has had many personnel changes but revolves around singer/songwriter Eric D. Johnson.

History

In 2000, Eric D. Johnson was an instructor at The Old Town School of Folk Music, led his own space-rock band called I Rowboat, and a was sideman in various groups, most notably Califone. He also had a four-track solo outlet called Fruit Bats, which he had been working on since 1997.

Fruit Bats had begun to evolve into a band with the inclusion of I Rowboat members Dan Strack and Brian Belval and in 2001, their debut record Echolocation was released on Califone’s imprint, Perishable Records. Tours followed with the likes of Modest Mouse and The Shins.

Fruit Bats signed with Sub Pop in late summer 2002, and have released three albums with the label including Mouthfuls in 2003, Spelled in Bones in 2005, and their fourth album The Ruminant Band was released on August 4, 2009.

Eric D. Johnson joined The Shins in 2009, though according to their web site, he plans to continue working with the Fruit Bats.

In an interview with Reverb Magazine's Nick Milligan (Australia), Eric Johnson has said of The Ruminant Band:

"I shouldn’t say I had any strong ideas about how I wanted The Ruminant Band to differ from our other records, but I knew that I definitely wanted it to. Previously, when I did those other albums, I think I set rules for myself. This time I didn’t try to go by the book so much. I also let the other play, rather than me being in charge. I played very little on this record – I wrote the songs and the vocal arrangements, and played some piano, but for the most part everything else is the band. That trust is something that comes with time. I had four years to sit and think about it. It can get lonely when you’re doing the – quote unquote – solo thing. My band is really talented, so I wanted their voices to be heard.” - Eric D. Johnson, Reverb Magazine Interview, August 4, 2009.

The song "When U Love Somebody" from the album Mouthfuls can be found in the January 2010 movie "Youth in Revolt".http

Discography

*Echolocation (2001)

*Mouthfuls (2003)

*Spelled in Bones (2005)

*The Ruminant Band (2009)

References