Fruit Bats Shares New B-Side

Yesterday, Fruit Bats released the single “Shane.” The delightfully sunny track comes from Eric D. Johnson’s sessions for the 2019 album Gold Past Life. Although “Shane” was not included in the record, the track was intentionally stowed away to be revealed later down the line.

Johnson detailed the journey of “Shane” in a statement, “Like a lot of good ‘shower thoughts’, I wrote the basics to this one stuck in a traffic jam on Los Feliz Boulevard. We recorded it during the Gold Past Life sessions, but it didn’t make the cut—not because it didn’t seem good enough but because it felt like a little nugget to drop to folks later on in the game. It feels oddly timely at this exact horrible moment we’re having. Like a lot of my songs, it’s about self-love and care in the face of darkness and uncertainty. The “Shane” in question isn’t so much a singular person but all of us, including myself.”

“Shane” is a bright and energetic driver of a song with more fuzz than the tracks seen on Gold Past Life. The fuzzed-out guitar is a perfect complement to the shiny riffs and solos throughout the song. Johnson’s vocals are as lively as ever when his harmonies end the track with a rewarding swell of energy. Take a listen to “Shane” below.