With first single “Dawn” off latest release Broken At The Break of Day grabbing the top most-added slot for week one, the start of 2020 has been nearly as energetic as festival darlings Fruition are known to be on stage. The album, a response to the call of 2019’s Wild as the Night, is a seven-song sonic ride beyond the fun and emotional chaos of the night into the assessment, acceptance, and renewal possible with a new day. This of course all within the context of the heavily toured.
The Portland, Oregon quintet of Jay Cobb Anderson (electric guitar, vocals), Kellen Asebroek (piano, acoustic guitar vocals), Jeff Leonard (bass), Mimi Naja (mandolin, electric guitar, vocals) and Tyler Thompson (drums) take turns in the lead here, each sharing responsibility for the harmonious outcome born out of Thompson’s basement between tour legs. Fruition used these bite-sized time periods to unleash work powered primarily by feel rather than the trap of over-thought time can set. Thompson notes, “That time limitation leant us to not over-think things, play instinctually and all live in the studio with very minimal overdubs. All the songs are very different, but I think the speedy process naturally created some sonic congruency.” The result is a genre-elusive work capturing best the feel of Fruition’s infectious live show.
Broken At The Break of Day is boiled down to seven tracks embracing a culture shift favoring a higher frequency for content, and is at times loose and flowing, and at others picked up and carried along with haste. The record, with partner piece Wild As The Night, will eventually be released together on vinyl, the set showing while the morning is a fresh start with the dismissal of demons only a new day can shake, they’re definitely still cleaning up from the night before. Both are out now, and Fruition is on the road with dates spanning into April certainly with more to come.
Photo by Molly McCormick