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The fourth and best-by-a-mile folk-rock album from sometime Shin Eric Johnson and his cud-chewing sidemen is a message to the freak-folk from "a broke-legged paint in a herd full of unicorns."
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The album's affinity for traditional hooks, mixed with Johnson's ability to depart from the traditional makes this album one of the Fruit Bats most listenable and enjoyable.
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Stripped of reference points, The Ruminant Band is an uncomplicated, easygoing success that suggests Johnson shouldn't get too busy to give Fruit Bats due attention.
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The Ruminant Band opens up the Fruit Bats aesthetic and is a welcome addition to both late summer and a terrific discography.
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You could miss whole philosophies by following the guitar line too closely…and forgo featherbeds of tuneful pleasures by worrying too much about the words. And yet, ride the line just right, and meaning floods translucently simple songs, lighting them up from inside and transforming them.
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Alternative PressWhere a lot of new bands drop the ball is not quite capturing the state of bliss that made so many of those hippue classics what they were. But that's not a problem on The Ruminant Band. [Sep 2009, p.104]
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This is one made like they used to make 'em--and it's utterly gorgeous to boot.
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All this means that Fruit Bats, like their contemporaries, could unfortunately be passed over due to sheer familiarity. That'd be a shame, because The Ruminant Band only gets more rewarding as it settles in.
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FilterThe tunes are still catchy, head-bobbing and toe-tapping, a kind of summer soundtrack that brightens your mood even if it doesn't quite make you smile, and sometimes that's all an album needs to be. [Summer 2009, p.103]
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The Ruminant Band is generally a happy affair, though, and cameo appearances by Califone's Tim Rutili and Jim Becker help chart the Fruit Bats' migration from bedroom side project to full-fledged band.
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The Ruminant Band isn't exactly Johnson and his band hitting their stride--because they were moving along just fine to begin with--but it is a clearing away of the few things that held them back.
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Under The RadarThe Ruminant Band has a bit of a rushed feel at times, but ultimately it's a worthy addition to an already impressive catalog. [Summer 2009, p.61]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 8 out of 10
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Mixed: 1 out of 10
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Negative: 1 out of 10
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RyanS.Aug 15, 2009Another good one from Fruit Bats.
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HelloH.Aug 11, 2009This is definitely the best Fruit Bats record thus far. I have always thought they had some great tunes, but now I feel like it's full-blown.