Eric D. Johnson’s Fruit Bats return with an expanded lineup (there’s five of them now) and more upbeat, bright and catchy melodies on this, their third release on Sub Pop.

Johnson has spent time performing with Vetiver and the Shins — and those influences do make appearances on Ruminant Band — but here we find the Fruit Bats moving beyond the easy grace of simple melody, exploring deep cuts from the 70s So-Cal experience as well as the alt-country soundscapes they’re known for. The expanded lineup add pedal steel, singalongs, piano love and jangling guitar duos.

Philosophically, Johnson is stretching himself thin between the straight-forward pop cheer the songs seem to crave and the more oblique sentiments that linger beneath the surface of any good songwriter’s catalog. There’s just enough depth here to make the songs more than easily digestable pop tunes but not enough to make it hard to swallow. Above all, the songs take precedence over all else, shimmering in their pop perfection alongside Johnson’s distinctive, able vocals.

Fruit Bats “The Ruminant Band” (mp3)

More songs at Sub Pop.

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