In a world increasingly saturated with maximalist gestures, Eric D. Johnson, the ever-inventive force behind Fruit Bats (also 1/3 of Bonny Light Horseman), is leaning into the profound beauty of less. Today, Johnson announced Baby Man, a new solo album set for release on September 12th via Merge Records, promising a stripped-down yet emotionally vast departure from the band’s celebrated canon. This isn’t just another Fruit Bats record; it’s a deep dive into the raw, unadorned core of Johnson’s songwriting.
Comprising ten captivating performances, Baby Man showcases Johnson’s voice and singular vision, primarily accompanied by solo guitar, piano, or the occasional understated synth. The album’s strength lies in its meticulous use of space, allowing each hushed melody and lyrical inflection to resonate with maximum impact. Johnson reunited with producer Thom Monahan, who, according to Johnson, pushed the vocals to the forefront, creating what’s described as Fruit Bats’ most intimate work to date.
The announcement arrives with “Stuck in My Head Again,” the album’s lead single. It’s a fever dream of introspection, a whispered confessional that immediately burrows into the listener’s psyche. “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,” Johnson offers, setting the stage for an album that promises vulnerability and an almost unsettling directness. After 2023’s critically acclaimed A River Running to Your Heart (reviewed here), Baby Man feels like an essential, unflinching gaze inward—a vital, emotive aural experience.
Baby Man Tracklisting
- Let you people down
- Two Thousand Four
- Stuck in My Head Again
- Baby Man
- Creature from the Wild
- Puddle Jumper
- First Girl I Loved
- Moon’s Too Bright
- Building a Cathedral
- Year of the Crow
Fruit Bats on tour
Full band shows:
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 – 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
The Baby Man Tour – An Intimate, Solo Evening with Eric D. Johnson (Presale begins now):
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
You may also like our Archive Interview with Eric D Johnson in which he chats about his last twenty years in music, from working with The Shins to Bonny Light Horseman, as well as Fruit Bats and his 2021 album The Pet Parade.