Church of Betty
Fruit on the Vine
[Telegraph Company]
Rating: 7.8
Combining traditional Eastern music and modern rock is a complicated affair indeed. A
lot of the time, attempts to add that elusive "Eastern flavor" to rock are botched miserably.
Think about it-– would you put turmeric on a hot dog? Not too fucking likely. Yes, sitars tend
to resonate longer than guitars, but that's no excuse for laying down an aimless 8-minute sitar
drone and calling it a "song."
Church of Betty employ sitar and tabla as two main instruments in their mix, and frontman Chris
Rael's microtonal warbling can be very highly reminiscent of Indian vocals. But Church of Betty
isn't just another "sitar rock" band. That's because they don't use their instruments as a
cover for shoddy songwriting. But while the deep, rhythmic grooves contributed by the tabla
and sitar definitely enhance Church of Betty's sound, Fruit on the Vine could easily
hold its own as a traditional guitar rock album. See, the real Eastern influence in Church of
Betty's music lies not in the instrumentation, but rather in the complex, beautiful melodic
structures. Fruit on the Vine takes full advantage of the George Harrison formula for
pop music: well-conceived traditional pop/rock song structures with melodies chock full of
spooky Eastern intervals.
Fruit on the Vine is a more consistent effort than 1998's excellent Comedy of
Animals. But while tracks like "The Magic in You," "I Swim in You," and "Skin of the
Ocean" are impressive, they never quite cross the threshold that separates impressive from
incredible. Comedy of Animals featured some of the band's best work-- "Blood and Roses,"
"Fallen Arrow," and a cover of the Beatles classic "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"-- the
tracks were sandwiched between several weaker moments. But Fruit on the Vine takes
fewer risks, and even when the band attempts more unconventional methods of songwriting and
production, the results are iffy at best. "Red Line" sounds like what Béla Fleck and the
Flecktones might have become if Fleck had taken up the sitar instead of the banjo. "Tail End
of a Dream," a song about the days when "TV was young and hopes were high," is disjointed to
the point of annoyance.
Despite a few thin tracks, Fruit on the Vine is a very strong album overall. But Chris
Rael and company have yet to release the album I know they have in them-– an album bursting at
the seams with shimmering harmonies, ominous Eastern intervals, and intricate rhythms. Still,
Fruit on the Vine is a truly enjoyable record that further solidifies my belief that
Church of Betty are, along with Macha, one of the few current indie rock bands to fuse the
sounds of the East and the West with such creativity and innovation.
-Matt LeMay