Watch the official video for “Dawn”
Hot on the heels of their recent release, Wild As The Night, Portland-based roots-rock darlings Fruition have just announced another brand new collection of songs, Broken at the Break of Day. The new seven-song album, available January 17th, 2020, was recorded in between tour dates in Fruition drummer Tyler Thompson’s newly constructed home studio, and like Fruition’s past releases, this collection of songs won’t fit into one box. Although it’s a challenge to categorize, Broken at the Break of Day feels whole because of the band’s dedication to honesty as well as harmony. Working as perfect companion pieces, both Wild as the Night and Broken at the Break of Day will be released together on 180g vinyl in January, giving listeners the option to hear the two newest Fruition releases as a collective body of work in this playlist-focused era.
In addition to the new digital and vinyl releases, Fruition have also just announced a slew of new tour dates, adding to their already-busy 2020 schedule. March will find Fruition playing their way through the American South before turning west to Indiana and Missouri on their way to WinterWonderGrass at California’s Squaw Valley Resort. Stops include NPR’s Mountain Stage (who included the single “Wild as the Night” in their November roundup of “Best New Songs,” noting the “cascade of harmonies feels like a 21st-century soft-rock treasure”), The Basement in Nashville, Asheville Music Hall, Indianapolis’s HI FI, and the Record Bar in Kansas City, MO. A full list of new and previously-announced tour dates can be found below.
Broken at the Break of Day shines a light on all five members of the band—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)—whether it’s on the traded lead vocals of “Dawn” or the irresistible rhythms of “Where Can I Turn.” As it’s been for more than a decade, their sound is hard to define, but the songwriting and the harmonies tie their diverse influences together.
For example, “Counting the Days” is a poignant love letter, while “For You” shows the exasperation of maintaining a relationship on the road. The band’s most electrifying rock moment, “Do What You Want,” is then followed by “Nothing More Than Spinning,” which sounds like a folk song interpreted by Queen. The stunning vocal blend heard in “At the End of the Day” brings Broken at the Break of Day to its beautiful and touching conclusion.
“This process was the quickest the band had ever written and recorded the songs,” Thompson says. “All the songs obviously fit either a ‘day’ or ‘night’ theme, but the whole rehearsing and recording process had to be done in about half the amount of time we were used to. That time limitation leant us to not overthink 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.”
