Pure Indie Rock Pedigree

That Chicago's The Fruit Bats aren't far more popular than they are seems a great tragedy. The rotating roster of musicians lead by singer/songwriter Eric Johnson has released two records of wonderfully sunny folk-pop on that little northwestern label that moody indie-pop darlings The Shins and The Postal Service call home, and have toured with the likes of Wilco, Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine, all of which adds up to what may very well be the purest indie rock pedigree of any band that your little brother still hasn't heard of. The band's third record, last year's Spelled in Bones, was hands-down one of 2005's most-overlooked gems, a masterpiece of sleepy-eyed innocence, singing lines like, "It could melt a frozen heart / If it needs to be so," and name-checking Prince's "Raspberry Beret" within the confines of an indie song without the slightest hint of post-modern irony, a stellar accomplishment in and of itself.

April 28. W/ Amandine, Jason Friedman (of The Boggs). Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St. (betw. Ludlow & Essex), 212-260-4700; 8, $12.