Fruition - Wild as the Night (2019)

In the increasingly saturated world of modern roots rock music, songwriting is what makes five-member progressive stringband Fruition stand out from the riff raff. For immediate evidence of the band’s unrivaled sense for the craft, you can spin the band’s newest studio release, Wild As The Night, a brilliant collection of seven new originals which has just dropped today.

The official press release for the album describes Wild As The Night as having an “after-hours vibe,” and that sounds about right. These songs, equally tender as they are raw, sound like the act of an artist telling us how they really feel, in a drunken state of emotional vulnerability, long after the concert has ended.

With strong harmonies between members often being the star of the record, much of Wild As The Night employs a beautifully minimalistic approach, with sparse but precise use of instrumentation setting the stage for the vocals and lyrics to shine in the spaces between. On “Don’t Give Up On Me,” it’s the Sting-like drum and bass combo that provide the light groove. On “Manzanita Moonlight,” Mimi Naja’s mandolin dances with guitar and piano to make this graceful, melodious masterpiece that just might be our favorite track. Jay Cobb Anderson’s affecting lead vocals head off the surreal blend of folk and jazz pop on “Sweet Hereafter,” while Naja and her unmistakably unique voice take the lead on the gorgeous title track.