The Ruminant Band by The Fruit Bats

The Fruit Bats is a folk/alternative band whose newest record, The Ruminant Band is a 70's-esque breezy summertime album filled with natural imagery, bright melodies and unassuming lyrics. The band undergoes major changes in its lineup and the result is an sound that is too refined to be 70's, yet too classic to be modern. It makes you smile and remember better days.
The first track, "Primitive Man", sounds like a more upbeat Leonard Cohen meets The Grateful Dead with more hooks and instrumentals. It is upbeat with tambourines, drums, guitar and piano dancing the waltz, making good music to dance to. From there, the vocals are more distinct and in tracks like "Tegucigalpa", they have an almost echoing, live feel. "Being On Our Own" makes you tap your feet and sway.
The love songs on the album have lyrics that are snarky and unconventional, like "Climb up with me to the monkey's nest", the opening lyrics to "Beautiful Morning Light". Despite that, the underlying tone of this album seeks to encourage you to think about life, rebirth and self-determination with lines like “You’ll always eat bread if you always have seeds to sow”.
All in all, it is a very easy album to listen to, and it's free for a limited time on Music Mix. The Album drops on August 4th.