Eric D. Johnson rarely lingers at one location too long.

“There’s always been motion in my life between one place and another,” says the Fruit Bats songwriter.

From Fruit Bats’ origins in the late ’90s as a vehicle for Johnson’s lo-fi tinkering to the more sonically ambitious work of recent years, the project has often showcased love songs where people and locations meld into one.

The new album, aptly titled A River Running to Your Heart (out April 14th on Merge), explores what he calls “the geography of the heart.” Self-produced by Johnson, it’s Fruit Bats’ tenth full-length release. The album finds the project in the middle of a people-powered climb leading to the biggest shows, loudest accolades, and most enthusiastic new fans in Fruit Bats history! Johnson’s hard-earned emotional maturity has seeped into his already inviting songs, resulting in a sound that’s connected with audiences like no other previous version of the band.

A River Running to Your Heart represents the fullest realization of Johnson’s creative vision to date. It’s a sonically diverse effort that largely explores the importance of what it means to be home, both physically and spiritually.