Fruit Bats Detail 10th Album ‘A River Running To Your Heart’ & Shares Love Song Single

The 10th Fruit Bats album, A River Running to Your Heart, will be released on April 14 through Merge Records. The album’s lead single, a love song written by Fruit Bats’ principle member Eric D. Johnson to his wife, “Rushin’ River Valley,” is out now.

Johnson produced A River Running to Your Heart, which was recorded at Panoramic House in Stinson Beach, California, with Jeremy Harris who also handled engineering and mixing. Johnson played guitars, keyboards, bass and drums, while Harris provided additional guitar and keyboards. Other contributions came from bassist David Dawda, keyboardist Frank LoCrasto, drummer/keyboardist Josh Adams and multi-instrumentalist Josh Mease. Featured guests include Vetiver’s Andy Cabic on acoustic guitar, Jeff Manson on pedal steel guitar and Johanna Samuels on vocals and piano.

Among the 11 tracks making up A River Running to Your Heart is the previously released single “Waking Up In Los Angeles.” Regarding the album, Johnson stated:

“Over the years there’s been a lot of geography in my music, a lot of landscapes. Sometimes the places are real, sometimes they’re emotional. I’ve always liked the idea of songs and albums that exist in a continuum with one another. I’m not talking about some kind of deep series of concept albums, mind you. More like the idea that my songs are all pretty much tributaries of the same river. Which makes a lot of metaphorical sense because my path has been long and winding and often slow and muddy. But always moving towards the sea.”

Fruit Bats’ last full-length album was The Pet Parade that Merge issued in 2021. Last year, Johnson’s trio Bonny Light Horseman released the group’s sophomore album, Rolling Golden Holy. Fruit Bats previously confirmed an upcoming Spring 2023 North American Tour that starts April 12 in Indianapolis and continues through May 27 in Vancouver.

Johnson also explained the origins of “Rushin’ River Valley,” a love song he wrote for his wife, photographer Annie Beedy:

“When I first met my wife, she kept referring to a ‘Rushin’ River Valley’ that was near where she grew up in West Sonoma County, California, I really thought she was leaning into a folksy colloquialism, dropping the ‘g’ on ‘rushing’ and all. It took me a while to learn that she was actually talking about the Russian River Valley — a beautiful area known for redwoods and chardonnay and biblical-level flooding.

“This song is about true love, and the question of whether we are fated to be together or if it’s all just universal chaos tossing us around. It’s also about ghosts and bad dreams and trying to move forward and climbing over a mountain and hoping to glimpse the other side.”

Check out “Rushin’ River Valley” below:

A River Running to Your Heart Tracklist

1. Dim North Star
2. Rushin’ River Valley
3. See the World By Night
4. Tacoma
5. Waking Up in Los Angeles
6. We Used to Live Here
7. It All Comes Back
8. Sick of This Feeling
9. The Deep Well
10. Meridian
11. Jesus Tap Dancing Christ (It’s Good to Be Home)