Fruit Bats’ Eric D. Johnson and his wife Annie collaborated on the charming new video for The Balcony, ditching the lockdown rule-book and hosting a house-party of 20+ (hand-made figurines).
Taken from the forthcoming album The Pet Parade, Fruit Bats has shared new single and video “The Balcony” – upbeat and sprightly, complete with warm drum machines and melodica. It arrives today with a charming music video, co-directed by Annie Beedy, which Johnson says was “inspired by Cabaret (the film version) mixed with the Star Wars cantina scene and a dash of The Mighty Boosh, with a storyline inspired by Dirty Dancing and Steve McQueen’s ‘Lovers Rock.’” Behold!
Eric D. Johnson on The Balcony:
“My wife Annie is one of my favorite visual artists. We’ve collaborated on many album covers over the years, but this our first video. The Balcony is a song about patience in isolation, waiting for the world to change while staring out at an empty street. So, in Annie’s words, ‘We created an alternate world—in our basement—where crowded clubs, real live crushes, and chance encounters still exist.'”
“The Balcony” was written by Johnson and produced by Josh Kaufman, Johnson’s bandmate in the 2021 GRAMMY®-nominated Bonny Light Horseman. Along with the other musicians on The Pet Parade—drummers Brian Kantor, Joe Russo and Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Fleet Foxes, Muzz), singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels, pianist Thomas Bartlett (Nico Muhly, Sufjan Stevens), and fiddler Jim Becker (Califone, Iron & Wine)—Johnson and company were forced to self-record their parts in bedrooms and home studios across America. Still, says Johnson, “The songs have enough intimacy that it doesn’t sound like it was made a million miles away.”
Photo Credit: Annie Beedy