Fruit Bats - Baby Man

Fruit Bats’ new album Baby Man is a daring, intimate, and deeply personal statement from Grammy-nominated songwriter Eric D. Johnson. Stripped to essentials, the album features Johnson alone in the room with occasional touches of guitar, banjo, piano, and subtle synths—save for producer Thom Monahan, returning for the first time since 2019’s Gold Past Life. The result is an unfiltered, immediate, and emotionally resonant listening experience, where every note and lyric feels laid bare.

Baby Man blends introspection with epic scale, a philosophy Johnson calls “minimalist-maximalism.” Fewer instrumental layers let his voice take center stage, pushing forward the emotional weight of each track. Opener “Let You People Down” and the contemplative “Stuck in My Head Again” serve as mission statements: songs about love, loss, life lessons, and the pursuit of wisdom. Meanwhile, the finger-picked heartbreak of “Puddle Jumper” and the reflective title track “Baby Man” reveal Johnson at his most raw, navigating personal struggle, rebirth, and the quiet moments of everyday life.

Throughout the album, Johnson’s vocals breathe life into songs written sometimes just hours before recording, capturing a vulnerability, tenderness, and intensity that is uniquely his own. Whether pondering the Los Angeles wildfires, his neighbors’ new dog, or the music that shapes him, Baby Man offers a profound and intimate connection, asking—and answering—the central question: Is it all worth it?

With Baby Man, Eric D. Johnson redefines the boundaries of Fruit Bats’ sound, creating a linchpin in his career: a record that recontextualizes his past, points toward a thrilling future, and solidifies his place as one of his generation’s great singer-songwriters.