The Fruit Bats are a band that, despite six albums of truly soulful genius, remain a well-kept secret, even in their hometown of Chicago, where band leader Eric D. Johnson (The Shins, Califone, EDJ) once taught at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
After disbanding in 2013, Johnson seemed to be focusing more on film scoring projects thanks to well-received turns on "Our Idiot Brother" (starring Paul Rudd) and the indie "Smashed" (featuring an incredible performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, but I digress), yet surprised many by reviving the Fruit Bats and returning with his strongest musical line-up and his best batch of songs.
The resulting album, Absolute Loser, is arguably the best work of his career, confirming Johnson's status as a talent worthy of mentioning in the same breath as Jeff Tweedy or Ryan Adams.
Johnson will be hitting the Windy City for a solo gig at Schuba's on May 11.