Merge · March 5, 2021
The Pet Parade is the eighth studio album from Eric D. Johnson’s indie folk-rock project, Fruit Bats. Johnson named the album and its titular track after the wonderfully bizarre pet parade outside of Chicago that he attended with his grandmother as a child. From this memory, he explores what he describes as “living within the beauty and absurdity of existence.” It isn’t surprising that the track originated from a memory, as the six-and-a-half minute tone poem evokes strong feelings of being drawn back to a familiar yet distant past.
Johnson’s experience as a guitar player and vocalist are evident in his songwriting and composition. At the ends of phrases, the guitar matches the sustained note of the vocals before shifting it into the next line and chord. This coordination and playful relationship between the guitar and vocals are the most prominent characteristics of Johnson’s style. Another feature of his style is his distinct vocal timbre. Johnson’s tone embodies his stylistic influences, as it reads solidly folk-rock and occasionally resonates as distinctly ‘70s.