Fruit Bats have spent years turning other bands’ songs into their own. Now they have turned a whole album into something else entirely. Siamese Dream is a cover record, but it is not a tribute. It is a reinvention, one that trades the original’s bludgeoning guitars for something softer, hazier, and far more intimate.
The record opens with “Cherub Rock,” a track that sets the tone immediately. Where the original built walls of noise, Fruit Bats strip back to a bare bones arrangement. The effect is immediate: the song feels lighter, almost fragile, and the shift from bludgeon to whisper is complete within the first minute.
“Quiet” follows at just over a minute, a brief interlude that functions as a palate cleanser. It is not a standout, but it does not need to be. Its brevity is the point.
Today Through Hummer
“Today” is the first real statement of intent. It runs nearly four and a half minutes, and it earns every second of that runtime. The melody is unhurried, the vocals sit higher in the mix, and the result is a version of the song that feels both familiar and utterly new.
“Hummer” stretches past six minutes and is the longest track on the record. It is also the most ambitious, and it lands. The band takes the original’s angular riff and turns it into something warm and patient, letting the song breathe in a way the original never could.
“Rocket,” “Disarm,” and “Soma” form the middle stretch, and they move quickly. None of them demand the same attention as the tracks around them, but they hold the record together. “Disarm” in particular carries a gentle, almost lullaby-like quality that fits the overall mood.
“Geek U.S.A.” and “Mayonaise” pass by in quick succession. They are competent, solid, and easy to overlook. Neither asks for much, and neither gives much either.
Space Boy Through Luna
“Space Boy” is a highlight, a track that shows the band at their most playful. The rhythm section locks in, the guitar work is sharp, and the whole thing feels like a love letter to a song that has always deserved better.
“Silverfuck” is a long track, and it is the one moment where the ambition falters slightly. The song’s structure is loose, and the band leans into that looseness rather than tightening it. It is a minor stumble, not a fall.
“Sweet Sweet” and “Luna” close the record. “Sweet Sweet” is brief, and it works as a soft landing. “Luna” ends things on a quiet note, a fitting close to an album that has spent its entire runtime pulling the volume down.
The Verdict
Siamese Dream succeeds because it respects the source material while refusing to mimic it. This is not a faithful recreation. It is a reinterpretation, and Fruit Bats treat the songs as raw material rather than holy writ.
The record is strongest in its middle and weakest in its edges. The highlights — “Today,” “Hummer,” “Space Boy” — are genuinely remarkable, and they justify the project on their own. The lesser tracks are competent filler, nothing more.
This is a record about transformation, and it works. Fruit Bats have taken a landmark album and made it their own without losing a step.
The track list, in order:
| # | Track |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cherub Rock |
| 2 | Quiet |
| 3 | Today |
| 4 | Hummer |
| 5 | Rocket |
| 6 | Disarm |
| 7 | Soma |
| 8 | Geek U.S.A. |
| 9 | Mayonaise |
| 10 | Space Boy |
| 11 | Silverfuck |
| 12 | Sweet Sweet |
| 13 | Luna |
- Cherub Rock3:44
- Quiet1:22
- Today4:16
- Hummer6:11
- Rocket3:19
- Disarm3:00
- Soma3:03
- Geek U.S.A.3:11
- Mayonaise3:53
- Space Boy3:14
- Silverfuck4:19
- Sweet Sweet1:45
- Luna3:12
