The project's seventh proper studio album overall,
Gold Past Life marks the Merge Records debut of
Eric D. Johnson's
Fruit Bats. It's their first since 2016's Absolute Loser three years prior, though in the meantime,
Johnson released the Record Store Day odds-and-ends collection The Glory of Fruit Bats as well as a live acoustic EP with
Vetiver's
Andy Cabic. Returning to newly composed songs,
Gold Past Life is presented as the third in an unplanned trilogy with Absolute Loser and 2014's
EDJ, an eponymous solo release. Connected by a period of personal loss, sociopolitical anxieties, and other stressors, the albums are surprisingly warm and sweet, if also wistful, with
Johnson explaining that he turned to songwriting as a means of comfort.
Gold Past Life opens with a strong, midtempo groove under dreamy guitar and keys on "The Bottom of It." The song's evocative lyrics embrace small victories, collecting trophies along the way in the form of found objects. It's followed by the '70s patchwork "Gold Past Life," which borrows from the soft rock, psychedelia, and soul of
the Bee Gees and beyond. The full-band arrangements of these early tracks are indicative of most of the
Thom Monahan-produced album, which features a backing lineup as well as guests including, among others,
Neal Casal, Tall Tales & the Silver Lining's Trevor Beld Jimenez, and
Hand Habits' Meg Duffy. Contrasting more richly arranged tracks are the lyrical "Ocean," which eventually adds spare accompaniment to solo acoustic guitar picking, and "Barely Living Room," a ballad that relies on piano and atmospheric string and organ tones. The album closes with the yearning synth song "Two Babies in Michigan," a state where
Johnson spent part of his childhood. Nostalgic throughout, yet often more affectionate than bittersweet,
Gold Past Life represents another consistently strong set from
Johnson, one with melodies and sentiments that linger. ~ Marcy Donelson