LUKA BLOOM – DREAMS IN AMERICA

It is 20 years since Luka Bloom left his unsettled home turf of Ireland, and set sail, guitar and promise of glory, for the giddy metropolis of New York City. In the early 90’s Bloom achieved a major hit with the stirring Riverside, and he has had a steady belt of fans following his ever-increasingly heart-on-sleeve ruminations on life in the city, and the gaps in his heart. And so, 20 years into his recording career Bloom has decided to draw upon his catalog and create a retrospective of songs he feels shaped him, from his blossoming in NYC til now, as a (gracefully) ageing veteran of coffee houses and tour vans. As a newcomer to Bloom’s music, this CD could serve as a fine library collection of his tunes – intimately re-recorded in his lounge-room using just a guitar and his warm Irish pipes. There are some lovely moments; such as the whispery alehouse ballad Lord Franklin and the plaintive Cold Comfort. But in a way, the nakedness of the performances reveal some of the weaknesses and easy hooks in Bloom’s misty-eyed wordplay. This is really adult contemporary, albeit of the best possible kind.

**1/2