Album Reviews
Bloomsday’s debut and sadly only release (outside of a hard
to find ’97 follow-up) is an incredibly beautiful and poetic
tribute to the genre of music known as ‘emo’. Released in
1996, a decade after the genre first shuffled its way into
the scene, ‘The Day The Colors Died’ epitomized all that is
good in the style.
The album gives new meaning to the term “artist”. Melancholy
crooning gives way to pleading heartfelt singing as the
music ebbs and tides at just the right moments, painting an
emotional aural masterpiece. From the epic-length tracks
‘Blue Poetry’ or ‘Weight’ to the acoustic intermission
‘Soft’, the music has been put together to communicate
emotion rather than comply with some
verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus formula.
That said, the music is characteristic of the progression of
‘emo’ into the mainstream spotlight. This is possibly due to
the team that helped create the album. The production
influence of the great Aaron Sprinkle of Poor Old Lu fame is
evident. The shorter tracks like the title track, ‘Patience’
and especially ‘Just The Same’ sound very similar to the
more indie rock orientated material by Poor Old Lu. The
album also saw engineering and mixing work by the late Gene
Eugene of Adam Again, placing it in the exclusive company of
albums fortunate enough to come out of The Fabulous Green
Room studio.
‘emo’ is one of those genres whose die-hard fans ‘get it’.
There is a whole sub-culture dedicated to the genre,
complete with favorite movies and style of clothes that
describe one as ‘emo’. This could possibly be why Bloomsday
was so short lived, as those who picked up their material
loved it, but the album did not have the pop sensibility to
catch on with the masses. The music is one of the most
immersive albums I have come across, inviting the listener
to dive into the cascading fuzz of guitars and rhythmic
vocal iterations.
The lyrics complete the experience, with profound poetic
songwriting hitting as deep as you want it to be. The vocals
are truly part of the music, interwoven with the flow of the
tempo in perfect harmony.
The band has since scattered to the four winds. No word on
drummer Mike Bravine. Front-man Blake Wescott went on to
work with several acts as both part of the bands well as
behind the scenes production. Projects include Pedro the
Lion, Cush, Saltine, The Vogue, The Posies and more. Steve
Leslie stayed in the Northwest and is now part of local
Bellingham band Chuckanut Drive with a rockabilly sound as
non-emo as they get.
“The Day The Colors Died” is a bittersweet remembrance of a
great band that was. Considering the style of music, leaving
in such a poignant state may be exactly what the band
wanted.
~ Chad
Bloomsday
plays absolutely beautiful music. Unfortunately this
indie band have split up. They released an independent
E.P and one full length on Brainstorm Records. The E.P is
now out of print and hard to get. Leader and singer of
the band Blake Wescott played bass on Pedro The Lions
fantastic "It's hard to find a friend", now
he's with Ken Fellowstring (R.E.M/The Posies in a band
called Saltine.
Bloomsdayhomepage)
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