CD 1:
1. Come Here - Marble Sounds
2. The Breeze/My Baby Cries - Bill Callahan
3. When I See You - Laura Jean
4. Finally - Mark Kozelek
5. Window - Mick Turner, Peggy Frew
6. Forget About Him - Devendra Banhart
7. I Wanna Love - Scout Niblett
8. Biggest Light Of All - The Dodos
9. Look At Me - Josephine Foster
10. Ready Or Not - Mia Doi Todd
11. Fall Again - Corrina Repp
12. It’s So Hard To Come Home - Marianne Dissard Joey Burns
13. In Your School - Amy Rude
14. If This Journey - Tom Hanford
15. There Was A Boy - Meg Baird
16. Come Here - The Concretes
CD 2:
1. Come Here
2. The Breeze/My Baby Cries
3. When I See You
4. Finally
5. Window
6. Forget About Him
7. I Wanna Love
8. Biggest Light Of All
9. Look At Me
10. Ready Or Not
11. Fall Again
12. It’s So Hard To Come Home
There are some folk artists who never realize the level of fame, success or the fan base they deserve. American outsider-folk singer/songwriter Kath Bloom is one such musician. Even after a half dozen releases during the seventies and eighties, Bloom remains a cult figure. Bloom took a long break to raise a family and do community work, but during that period of musical isolation, listeners rediscovered her discography. In 1995 one of Bloom’s compositions was included in director Richard Linklater’s relationship drama Before Sunrise. Ten years ago new material began to surface and then some of her back catalog was reissued. The latest outcome of Bloom’s re-developing career is the double album tribute/compilation, Loving Takes This Course: A Tribute to the Songs of Kath Bloom.
The concept is a complimentary one. The opening disc is a covers assemblage, featuring 16 likeminded musicians interpreting selected Bloom songs. The second disc features the same numbers in the same order as recorded by Bloom. Comparisons and contrasts are evident, which is one of the appealing virtues of this package.
Most renditions do not stray far from Bloom’s original versions, which makes those pieces that have an altered sort of trajectory memorable. One of the distinct translations is opener “Come Here,” from Marble Sounds, which the group adapts into a slightly psychedelic excursion, emphasizing Bloom’s understated melodic charm, while adding a captivating harmony chorus and touch of whimsical electronics. “Come Here” is the only such effort done twice. Stockholm’s The Concretes’ album-closing reading is reminiscent of their trademark twee pop, with skittish electric guitar, Victoria Bergsman’s icily detached vocals, and a simple, attractive pop arrangement. Another notably entertaining treatment is Devendra Banhart’s “Forget About Him.” While Bloom’s initial rendering has a mid-century rural appeal, Banhart throws in a reggae underlining, pumps up the rhythm into something danceable, prominently sings in a soulful voice deeper than usual, and layers in some Tex Mex organ, resulting in one of Banhart’s finest recorded moments.
One of several outstanding acoustic adaptations includes Bill Callahan’s intimate, reflective, “The Breeze/My Baby Cries,” a languid, pastoral piece similar to the graceful aesthetic he favored when he fronted Smog. When Callahan sings, “Yesterday I talked with my father/He said we could never win,” he manages to make the enigmatic lyrics speak of generational alienation and a son’s inner turmoil. Bloom’s version is much more lo-fi, a painfully personal conception, where her voice nearly cracks with the emotional weight of a daughter’s plea to help and not hurt. British born and Oregon based Scout Niblett’s electric guitar/vocals take on “I Wanna Love” shares a related essence. She accentuates minimalism and repetition akin to early Cat Power or PJ Harvey, and subtly shifts her voice from flirtatious come-on to a rawer gruffness as she sings about the steps she is willing to go to get the love she craves. Bloom’s lighter-seeming approach is decidedly less sociopathic and more romantic in nature.
One of Bloom’s avowed long-time fans is Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon frontman Mark Kozelek, who is no stranger to tributes. Kozelek tackles “Finally,” which stresses his melancholy monotone singing voice and his high-ended and open, finger-picking guitar style. Kozelek listeners may recognize this track, since it can be found on his 2008 mostly-covers undertaking, Finally, in expectation of Loving Takes This Course, which took longer to be issued than anticipated. In contrast, Kath Bloom’s handling of “Finally” is a delicately wrought tale of achieving contentment, finding the light at the end of the previously dark tunnel, and earning forgiveness. Other refined moments occur during courtship ballad “Ready or Not,” delivered by Los Angeles alternative folkster Mia Doi Todd, where Todd’s resemblance to early seventies Joni Mitchell is admirably highlighted. A corresponding turn comes from fellow alternative folk artists The Dodos, who slip in some faint, reverb-tinted horns to spiritually-inclined “Biggest Light of All,” which diverges deeply from Bloom’s low-budget production, which is marked by ambient hiss and Loren MazzaCane Connors’ avant-garde blues guitar and mumbled humming.
The primary lure for Loving Takes This Course will be for musicians such as Banhart, Callahan, Kozelek and others, who have fan bases who will be intrigued by their inclusion in this project. Because of her relatively low profile even among the folk music crowd, Bloom’s name may not bring in the intended audience. Another consideration is the necessarily uneven production on the second disc. Bloom’s older records were eccentric folk efforts, with often near-zero budgets, which means that some historical material found on Loving Takes This Course will prove to be unconventional for those used to fuller arrangements on contemporary folk releases. But for anyone with an ear for unobtrusive folk that doesn’t trade in clichés, Bloom offers an inviting summary of the soundtrack of her life.
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