Eric D. Johnson began making home recordings of his songs in 1997, and since then has operated under the moniker Fruit Bats, releasing albums on the seminal indie record labels Sub Pop and then Merge. Oh, and he was a member of indie darlings The Shins. Oh, and also, he formed a trio that included a member of Bon Iver and another from The National, releasing a record that was nominated for a Grammy award. By any standard, that is an impressive musical resume. Through all of it, Johnson has remained true to himself. Whether it was the endearing indie pop of Fruit Bats’ early work, through a gradual move to more introspective work, his voice was unquestionable and sincere. Fruit Bats’ latest album, Baby Man is a revelation – Johnson’s stripped his songwriting to the bone, with lyrics that cut deep, and a sound that gets deeper and broader in its subtlety with each subsequent listen. At times evoking the spirit of Van Morrison, occasionally navigating his naked lyrics through the fringes of traditional folk, and with other moments that would find him comfortably performing in a Greenwich Village coffee shop circa-1960, Fruit Bats remains a unique voice. - Sean Myers