Tripper, the fifth Fruit Bats full-length, was recorded at WACS Studio in Los Angeles with Thom Monahan. For the first week of recording, Fruit Bats leader Eric D. Johnson brought in a full band to capture some of the live excitement of 2009s The Ruminant Band. However, having recently worked alone on soundtracks for an extended period, Johnson knew that he wanted Tripper to be more of a solitary pursuit than his previous album. The resulting album, a bittersweet meditation on hitting the road, leaving the familiar behind and reinventing yourself, is a reinvention itself.