What does Torres and Fruit Bats sound like?

Two raw alt-rock musicians channel their inner Imogen Heap.

The review of ‘A Decoration’ by Torres and Fruit Bats

Mackenzie Scott of Torres and Eric D. Johnson of Fruit Bats choosing to collaborate for a six-song EP is an interesting. While I’m personally less familiar with Fruit Bats’ music, Torres’ last two albums have been sonically diverse and expansive. They are wildly creative albums and so two artists finding each other and wanting to create something both their and unique shows a lot of trust and openness to trying something new. The result is ‘A Decoration’. You can hear both Torres and Fruit Bats in the emotional depths and songwriting, yet it also sounds slightly different from both artists too.

The title track kicks off this subtle difference with heavy reverb kick drums, vintage organs and thick warbling synth bass fuzz enveloping the guitars. It is more cinematic and electronic than both artists usually do whilst sounding future vintage too. Mackenzie and Eric sing as a duet together like a drone duo. They draw out each word slowly like an indie choir and this vocal style continues throughout most of the EP. As we move into ‘Still Want More’ drum machines and various synth pulses lay out a heavy atmosphere of noise. It allows those dissonant long-drawn vocals to drift in and out like space signals as the quicker-paced track flies onward. Melodically things are interesting with distant guitar riffs interplaying with keyboards. The track wants to be an ambient dance piece but eschews it for some indie rock elements making it an inviting curio. The keyboards shift towards more cinematic duets of keyboards and guitars with ‘The Fox’. The dreamlike waltz of dramatic fuzzy synth guitars riffs out of a carnival act betray the slow beats and swirling atmospheric pads that keep the track feeling weird and off-kilter.

The ethereal nature of this collaboration between Torres and Fruit Bats continues into its most approachable track. ‘Married for Love’ is warm, blustery and full of clouds of synths as the near bass-less piece instead uses city sounds to fill out the mix. It is a track that sounds simple of the surface but with a careful ear, you can hear all kinds of interesting samples, field recordings and production tricks to enjoy. In many ways, all the songs on this EP are quite straightforward. It is the production and interplay between instrumentation that makes the release so intriguing. ‘In the Old Style’ is a great example of this. It is a relatively straightforward four-chord pattern throughout most of the song but with all the tiny music box, tuned percussion, drum machines and sound effects included – it sounds closer to an Imogen Heap track. Referencing Imogen Heap is purposeful. I feel like this EP is taking her approach to kitchen sink sound design. Both Torres and Fruit Bats are playing with all their toys and enjoying the experimentation process. This concludes with a drifting indie rock outro of ‘Pink Triangle’. With minimal vocalisation, it creates an indie raj-like sound to allow a guitar riff to repeat over and over like a cathartic sigh over a single chord of indie rock. It is a great closer.

‘A Decoration’ is a playful approach to ethereal, ambient-infused indie rock. More synth-driven than most of Fruit Bats and Torres output, both artists have embraced something unlike anything they’ve delivered before. It doesn’t sound out of place from their regular output – more of an expansion of their previous walls of engagement. I love how the EP runs as a continuous set of songs too. They bleed into each other and it works as a single 20-minute body of work too. As a starting point and entry for either artist, it might be a difficult sell. There isn’t a standout single to hook you in. That said fans of either artist will embrace this happily and fans of hazier indie rock will be right at home.

Recommended track: Still Want More

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