Fruit Bats

Our latest posts

[ September 29, 2023 ] Something for the weekend: Brad Paisley “The Medicine Will” Tracks
[ September 29, 2023 ] AUK Shortcuts September 2023: Jeff Plankenhorn, The 19th Street Band, The Waymores, Andrew Rumsey, The Street Arts Project, The Two Tracks, Ludwig Wright and Bret Mosley Features
[ September 29, 2023 ] Ben Stubbs “Light of my Life” Album Reviews
[ September 29, 2023 ] Classic Clips: Bonny Light Horseman “The Roving” opbmusic Live Session, 2020 Classic Clips
[ September 29, 2023 ] Live Review: An Evening With Guise & Hannah Rose Platt, Three Wise Monkeys, Colchester – 7th September 2023 Live Reviews

Fruit Bats “Gold Past Life” (Merge Records, 2019)

July 8, 2019 Paul Kerr 0

Essentially a vehicle for Eric D. Johnson, a sometime member of The Shins, Fruit Bats deliver their first album for Merge Records with a fizzy, at times sugary, flourish. The 11 songs here are bathed in […]

Fruit Bats sign to Merge for new album – Listen

April 4, 2019 Mark Whitfield 0

There are few bands named after an animal/bird who are actually better than the animal/bird themselves (Owl City anyone?) but Fruit Bats are one such band, and they’ve just announced details of their new album ‘Gold […]

Interviews

Interview: Cruz Contreras on cosmic country and Idaho

September 26, 2023 0

Mixing lo-fi with classic sounds and a Steinway piano to create a unique sound. After 25 years playing music, latterly with his band the Black Lillies, Cruz Contreras has finally got around to releasing his first […]

Interviews

Interview: Tommy Prine on going this far South with friends

September 21, 2023 0

Songs that document the journey to being a man. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly helped to persuade his friend, Tommy Prine, that he should pursue a life in music. Subsequently, Kelly, a wise man, indeed, co-produced ‘This […]

Interviews

Interview: Jonathan Wilson on following his gut instincts and eating the worm

September 19, 2023 2

Adding a dollop of Finnish Wigwam to his Southern musical family heritage. There is no better example of a musical polymath than Jonathan Wilson. He is a successful solo artist, an in-demand record producer for artists […]

Features

The Top 10 Greatest Ever Americana Artists: Keith Hargreaves

July 13, 2023 46

As always in these prescriptive articles there must be a drawing of boundaries and Clint’s first article in the series seemed to have dealt with the idea that you should define americana in a narrow sense […]

Obituaries

The Song Remains: Eric Taylor 1949-2020

March 12, 2020 4

I heard from a colleague, who has contact with associates of Eric Taylor, that he had died on March 9th 2020 following a period of illness. I immediately checked the web for confirmation but there was […]

Features

The Top 10 Greatest Ever Americana Artists: Martin Johnson

August 31, 2023 27

How does anyone go about determining the top ten americana artists ever, and once you’ve worked that one out, how do you rank them in a meaningful way? These are the legitimate questions facing Americana UK […]

Essentials

Essentials: The top 10 Steve Earle albums

July 8, 2021 22

Steve Earle announced his arrival in our lives with his debut album in 1986. Since then, he has racked up almost thirty studio and live albums under his own name or in collaboration with others. I […]

Fruit Bats “Gold Past Life” (Merge Records, 2019)

Fruit Bats sign to Merge for new album – Listen

AUK Shortcuts September 2023: Jeff Plankenhorn, The 19th Street Band, The Waymores, Andrew Rumsey, The Street Arts Project, The Two Tracks, Ludwig Wright and Bret Mosley

Classic Clips: Bonny Light Horseman “The Roving” opbmusic Live Session, 2020

The Top 10 Greatest Ever Americana Artists: Jonathan Smith

Classic Americana Albums: Dave Alvin “Ashgrove”

More People Should Really Know About: Otis Gibbs

VERSIONS: “White Freightliner Blues”

Americana Vinyl Treasures : Splinter “The Place I Love” – Dark Horse Records, 1974

For The Sake Of The Song: Wilco “What’s The World Got In Store”

Classic Clips: Jackson Browne with JD Souther – AMA Awards Ryman Auditorium, 2014

More People Should Really Know About: Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams

Live Review: An Evening With Guise & Hannah Rose Platt, Three Wise Monkeys, Colchester – 7th September 2023

Live Review: Steve Tilston, Nettleham Village Hall, Lincoln – 16th September 2023

Live Review: Septembersong, Braziers Park, South Oxfordshire – 17th September 2023

Live Review: Bonny Light Horseman with the London Contemporary Orchestra, The Barbican, London – 15th September 2023

Live Review: The Unthanks Alldayer, The Barbican, London – 10th September 2023

Live Review: Tommy Prine + Old Man Boom, The Portland Arms, Cambridge – 3rd September 2023

Live Review: Graham Nash, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London – 11th September 2023

Live Review: Dan Stuart, Fallen Angels Cub, Glad Café, Glasgow – 10th September 2023

Live Review: The War and Treaty + Foreign Affairs, Omeara, London – 1st September 2023

Live Review: The Walkmen + Almost Nothing. Koko Camden, 30th August 2023

Paperback Riders: Will Birch – “Cruel To Be Kind – The Life & Music Of Nick Lowe”

Book Review: Michael Streissguth “Highways & Heartaches”

Paperback Riders: Emily St. John Mandel – “Station Eleven”

Book Review: David C Morton with Charles K Wolfe “DeFord Bailey, A Black Star in Early Country Music”

Book Review: Mandi Bates Bailey “The Downhome Sound; Diversity and Politics in Americana Music”