Beloved Portland, OR outfit Fruition has released How To Make Mistakes, its first studio album in four years. The new album represents both a new approach and a return to roots for the quintet, comprised of singer-songwriters Jay Cobb Anderson (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Kellen Asebroek (vocals, guitar, piano), and Mimi Naja (vocals, guitar, piano, mandolin) alongside Jeff Leonard (bass) and Tyler Thompson (drums).
When Fruition formed in Portland in 2008, the band’s three songwriters earned their first fans by busking together on Oregon’s street corners. Those informal gigs were raw and real, filled with all the honest imperfections of a live performance. Thousands of shows and many sonic evolutions later, How To Make Mistakes revisits that flaws-and-all approach.
“This is the first studio album that we’ve recorded entirely live,” said Jay Cobb Anderson of the album’s recording process at Colorado’s eTown Hall. “We recorded 17 songs in 7 days, with everybody playing together in real time, and we didn’t overdub anything. The songs sound honest and real. They sound like us.” The five band members served as co-producers for the album, while Thompson handled mixing/engineering duties.
“If you’re doing it right, you’re bound to make mistakes,” Cobb Anderson added. “Existence is a messy affair. Grace isn’t a swan, it’s a pigeon. The most beautiful intricate beadwork is often purposely flawed, to let the soul out. Perfection isn’t natural. The dearest memories are bent and dented. Priceless relics come chipped and cracked, and bruised fruit always tastes a little bit sweeter.”
How To Make Mistakes showcases a reinvigorated group at the peak of its powers, a bold blend of American roots, rock, soul, folk, and pop from a band that started its life as a bluegrass ensemble but has grown into so much more.
Listen to How To Make Mistakes, the new album from Fruition, on the platform of your choice here or stream it via the Spotify player below.
Fruition – How To Make Mistakes – Full Album
Fruition is already out on the road in support of the new LP. After wrapping up a run of shows in Montana this weekend, the band will launch its fall tour in earnest on September 14th in Albany, OH and make its way around the Southeast and Northeast U.S. throughout September. In October, Fruition will head westward for performances throughout California and the Pacific Northwest, while November will bring the group to the Midwest in addition to Atlanta, GA, Nashville, TN, and more. Click below for a full list of upcoming Fruition tour dates. For more information, head here.
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