Golden Bloom
(The Sleepy West)
Remember the name Shawn Fogel. It sounds like in the recent past he's had some innocuous bands and I believe this is the first record he has done under the Golden Bloom moniker. Still, don't let the rookie tag scare you off and don't hesitate to give it a listen as Fan the Flames is terrific. A pop record all the way with hooks that are both occasionally obvious yet totally effective.
Opening cut "E.H.M" starts with some catchy roller rink organ and then a searing guitar hook to equal one of the catchiest songs you'll hear all year while on "Doomsday Devices" you might mistake his vocals for Jeff Tweedy but Tweedy hasn't delivered anything this snappy since Wilco's debut record. He slows thing down a bit for "She Leaves Me Poetry' which ends up diving into a lush pool of orchestration and melody while "The Mountainside Says" seems to veer off a bit into Dylan/The Band territory and again, to near-perfect effect. In the press kit Fogel stated that "these songs come from a frustrated optimism or an optimistic frustration." They say the greatest art comes from the most pain and while I don't claim to know where Fogel's head was at when he wrote Fan the Flames , it's ok. I don't want to read too much into it. I just want to listen to these 9 superb songs and marvel at their simple beauty.
Recommended Tracks: "E.H.M", ""Doomsday Devices", "Theme For an Adventure at Sea", "The Mountainside Says" TIM HINELY
