Fruit Bats: The Ruminant Band

Label: Sub Pop

“Ruminant”: it’s a fancy way of saying contemplative — or more precisely, it’s the way a truly ruminant band would describe itself as being contemplative. It all fits in the spacious sound-world of the Fruit Bats, who take full wing on their gorgeous fourth album, The Ruminant Band. Frontman Eric D. Johnson leads his quintet through their sweetest, most technicolor jams yet, finding room for plenty of wordy lyrics and melodies without ever making things feel crowded. To my ears the star here is lead guitarist Sam Wagster, whose very name suggests the decades-spanning rock-dude grooviness he unfurls in one song after another (alongside an almost saloon-y piano, played in a similar fashion by a few bandmembers). And at that you realize — if it hasn’t already happened, this is a band that could be a huge hit with the neo-hippies at Bonnaroo, without an atom of embarrassment to themselves (or you, indie kid). Put that in your pipe! (M.L. Thrope)