Pitchfork

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.