Here for Days

Over the years, countless musicians have asserted that they hate being categorized. But categories do serve a useful purpose — how else are marketing people going to do their jobs? That said, categories don't always do artists justice. Take Fruit, for example. Here for Days could easily be categorized as alternative pop/rock or adult alternative — and if the use of those terms enables the all-female Australian band to sell more CDs, that isn't a bad thing. But because Fruit (which shouldn't be confused with other acts that have used that name) has been influenced by such a variety of styles, those terms don't seem to fully do the quintet justice. Here for Days, which was produced in England by Paul Gomersall, is far from predictable. Some of Fruit's pop/rock is very folk-influenced and has been compared to the Indigo Girls, but other times, the Aussies favor a jazzy, soul-tinged approach that sort of reminds you of Swing Out Sister. And much to its credit, Fruit always has a distinctive, recognizable sound regardless of whether it is going in a folk-influenced direction or more of a jazzy direction. The outfit has three very capable lead vocalists to choose from (Mel Watson, Susie Keynes and Sam Lohs), and whoever ends up taking the lead vocals on a particular song, Fruit is always ready to provide an abundance of delicious, gorgeous harmonies. If the rich melodies and hooks win you over in the first place, the harmonies give you even more reason to stick around. So however you categorize Here for Days, this is an excellent, chance-taking effort that deserves a great deal of attention.