Using bright melodies, defiantly major-key chord structures, natural imagery mixed with the occasional blazing insight and tender observation, Eric D. Johnson's Fruit Bats have never shied away from darkness, but more uncommon in this day and age, they've refused to shy away from light. With The Ruminant Band, this tradition continues in characteristically rich and involving fashion. Though he has spent the handful of years between Fruit Bats records playing with peers as heralded and forward-thinking as Vetiver and The Shins, the songwriting and production on The Ruminant Band mark a further crystallization of Johnson's own melodic instincts and overall vision over the past near-decade. This is the third Fruit Bats album out through Sub Pop and Stomp, previous releases being 2003's Mouthfuls and 2005's Spelled In Bones.