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In the early months of 2006 Embarrassing Fruits began playing stripped down, song-based music in an unheated living room in Greensboro, NC. Swilling cans of PBR, listening to early 90’s indie-rock and eating spicy foods helped fuel the band early on, setting the groundwork for honest, unpolished and unpretentious indie rock that recalls what the genre was about in the first place. After moving back to Chapel Hill, NC, Lee Shaw, a talented songwriter in his own right, joined the band on bass in early 2008. Joe Norkus, Lee Shaw, and John Neville now make up “The Fruits.”

The First Time EP is the band’s first official release on Trekky Records and it is the definition of homemade. Recorded and mixed in Trekky’s home studio The Owl Room, the CD features screen printed packaging hand printed by The Trekky Records Printing Company and Embarrassing Fruits themselves, all in one house, Trekky Headquarters.

Amid a slew of groups that do nothing but tap and twist delay pedals and scream nonsense into microphones, Embarrassing Fruits rely on bass, drums, guitar and vocals to create music that reminds us of classic, early indie rock like Archers of Loaf, Sebadoh and Pavement. The Fruits are living in the days before iPods, when crowded basement summertime shows and college radio ruled. Divebomb guitars and a slight Southern slant harken back to mid-nineties Chapel Hill glory. Simple, sarcastic anthems such as “Bicycle” will take you on a journey into the mind of the high school sophomore in a grown man’s body. “Drunken Foot” tells the story of a romance that begins with a few beers. “Willing Partner” is a Southern jam about uncertainty in a budding relationship.

"Trekky Records trio Embarrassing Fruits reclaims the way-ripe sounds of slackjaw indie titans like Dinosaur Jr., Pavement and Archers of Loaf. Never in a hurry and never missing a witticism, the Chapel Hill boys soundtrack (late) summer with tunes that amble around town in cut-offs and dirty T-shirts, scribbling down scenes and chuckling all the way home."
-The Independent

"Every once in a while, a band comes around that reminds you of how much fun rock 'n' roll used to be, before the world collectively developed a fear of amplifiers. On their debut EP, The First Time, Embarrassing Fruits prove that they are that sort of band, providing the shot in the arm that has been needed for quite some time."
-The Daily Tar Heel

"This is a welcome sort of nostalgia, a re-simplification of indie rock that harkens to early '90s touchstones. Think Pavement on sedatives. Think Dinosaur Jr. without the feedback."
-The Independent

"Sometimes the combination of snippets of words, a singer's voice and a catchy riff are all it takes for me to like a song, and that's the case with [Embarrassing Fruits' "First Time"]."
-Lost in Your Inbox

"With a low Silver Jews-like tone, mid-range vocals and poppy-flavored lyrics, one of North Carolina’s top indie bands is well on their way."
-YES! Weekly

"It’s hard to put a finger on why this is different from mp3 blog darlings like The Ting Tings, Fleet Foxes or Wolf Parade. But for me it harkens back to an earlier sound that I’ve yet been able to get over. It’s the sound of early Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Big Dipper, Galaxie 500, Superchunk, Meat Puppets and on and on. Man I love that sound…what ever happened to it?"
-Songs:Illinois

"Embarrassing Fruits, a band whose dive-bomb guitars and Southern slant recall mid-'90s Chapel Hill glory."
-The Independent

SEE ALSO: Sumr Stupid Drunk Fun

Preview:
First Time

Stream The First Time for free at Last.fm.

1. First Time
2. Bicycle
3. Drunken Foot
4. Willing Partner
5. Love Can Be Mean