Dead Heart Bloom – Studio Albums & EP Collection 2006-2010 [6CD]

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Dead Heart Bloom – Studio Albums & EP Collection 2006-2010 [6CD]

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Collection includes 3 studio albums and 3 EP by American indie rock band Dead Heart Bloom.

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Dead Heart Bloom – Studio Albums & EP Collection 2006-2010 [6CD]

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“Strange Waves,” is the latest addition to Dead Heart Bloom’s growing musical repertoire. Self-recorded in the band’s Brooklyn studio, the album has been described as “aiming higher than most, with a palpable commitment to classic songwriting along with the honing of a cohesive and unmistakable style”. Critical references to the Beatles, David Bowie, ‘Bends’-era Radiohead and Pink Floyd have been well-noted and early reviewers have quickly commented on the album’s “well-crafted melodies and rich vocals that are both warm and reassuring” with “smart, articulate arrangements”. Others have noted “shoe-gazey moods and British Invasion hooks” serving as hopeful back-drops to “narratives of battered hearts and souls in peril”.

Dead Heart Bloom was formed in 2005 by songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Boris Skalsky following the break-up of his previous band, the Washington, DC based Phaser. Finding himself with a wealth of material, Boris quickly set about recording tracks resulting in the self-titled debut. With sweeping string arrangements, finger-picked guitars, electronic experiments and lyrics that tended to explore the darker side of the human condition, reviewers favorably compared the record to the “eclectic eccentricity of Beck”, the “dramatics of Bowie” as well as often name checking the Beatles, Nick Cave, Pink Floyd and even “Pet Sounds”-era Beach Boys.

Relocating to New York City in 2006 resulted in the acoustic collection, Chelsea Diaries. Sparse arrangements including piano, acoustic guitars, tambourines and gorgeous vocal harmonies provided a distinctly mature singer-songwriter atmosphere to the songs. Reviewers name-checked Jeff Buckley, Mark Kozelek, early-period Dylan and George Harrison’s early solo work and the album cemented the band’s reputation as a critical favorite when Chelsea Diaries was nominated for the Shortlist Music Prize (American version of the British Mercury Music prize) alongside works by Wilco, Arcade Fire and PJ Harvey.

In 2008, guitarist Paul Wood (also ex-Phaser) re-connected with Boris and the two began writing and recording an ambitious 3 EP series which were released through 2008 and 2009. Each EP in the series explored different elements that had been touched on in previous Dead Heart Bloom releases: Fall In (dream pop); Oh Mercy (grit rock); and In Chains (ambient folk). For these recordings, the band was joined by bassist Nathan Goheen and drummer John Hadfield and a number of guest New York musicians, fleshing out the songs with string arrangements, sax solos, and orchestral overdubs. Each EP of the series drew its own favorable reviews. Rolling Stone called Fall In a “sublime combination of dour, druggy vocals and corkscrewing guitars”; CMJ labeled Oh Mercy an “unusual blend of intentionally unsettling bluesy yet aggressive rock guitar driven music”; and Under the Radar magazine said In Chains “comes on like the ocean, ancient, enveloping, and with just a little darkness beneath.”

2010’s Strange Waves continues the momentum, displaying a strong sensibility leaning heavily towards both well-crafted guitar pop and late night atmosphere. The band again reveals an ability to explore the tradition of ‘rock’ music yet, anchored by vocalist Boris Skalsky’s smoky baritone, achieves a sound “uniquely their own”.

Strange Waves is available on CD, LP and digital download formats.

Dead Heart Bloom continues to write and record in New York City and tour around the new release. Their music has been featured on a number of television broadcasts, including the FOX program “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, a national Above the Influence ad campaign as well as on NBC’s “Friday Night Lights”, among others.

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Dead Heart Bloom – Studio Albums & EP Collection 2006-2010 [6CD]

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"Written recorded and performed by Boris Skalsky," reads the top-line credit in the CD booklet for the debut album by Dead Heart Bloom, which should clear up the question of who the real artist is. Skalsky was the singer, bassist, and keyboard player in Phaser, and although he has employed his former bandmate Paul Wood to play guitar on three tracks, used a couple of drummers on different songs, and written some parts for the Sunrise Quartet to play, Dead Heart Bloom is actually a solo project in everything but name. As is often the case when a former group member breaks out on his own, the album serves as a means for him to demonstrate the variety of his talents, not only for writing, singing, playing a variety of instruments, engineering, and arranging, but also for creating music in many different styles. Much of the disc, beginning with the introductory statement "Listen," is soft and acoustic, with delicate guitar playing or lush strings (such as in "I Hope I Stop Fading"), in which Skalsky voices doubts and emotional vulnerability. But then there are rough-edged rockers with noisy guitar lines like "Sodom" and "The Marchers Are Coming" that feature lyrics tinged with bitterness. "I won't let them hang me, ma," Skalsky vows in "The Marchers Are Coming," and in "Sodom" he reaches back to biblical imagery, recalling, "When the whores left Sodom for the Promised Land, they never looked back to wonder why." (If that's his metaphor for the breakup of Phaser, it must have been anything but amicable.) And there are also the sound collage instrumentals "Transfiguration" and "Transmigration," plus a slow, moody revival of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" in which the train rolls not to San Antonio, but instead to "Kingdom Come." That's the gloomiest moment on the album, but not the only one, by any means. As the name Dead Heart Bloom indicates, Skalsky is interested in issues of death and rebirth on his debut solo album, and he demonstrates enough ability to awaken interest in what he will do once he gets his recent troubles behind him.

Review by William Ruhlmann, Allmusic.com

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Dead Heart Bloom – Studio Albums & EP Collection 2006-2010 [6CD]

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Dead Heart Bloom is the one-man music project of New York-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Boris Skalsky (formerly of the band Phaser). Chelsea Diaries is his new 8 song mini album that offers something for everyone with its sincere acoustic tracks. What makes Chelsea Diaries so compelling is its simplicity of what a man can do with a guitar. There is the up beat number “Who Will You Love” that has harmonizing vocals and handclaps that sets the tone followed by “Chelsea Song #2” which is a more somber affair and highlights Skalsky’s lower range and sounds much like Mark Kozelek. The rest of Chelsea Diaries plucks along and gives the listener many different tempos, completely drawing them into the songs. Dead Heart Bloom balances their sound and bounces between a 60’s melodic Beatles sound and a modern Beck on guitar. The end result is an album that demands you take another listen and ultimately will end up in your player for quite awhile. Chelsea Diaries sets the roadmap for what can only lead to anticipation for Dead Heart Bloom’s next offering.

Review by Christopher Anthony, The Fire Note

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Dead Heart Bloom – Studio Albums & EP Collection 2006-2010 [6CD]

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Fall In is the first in a series of EPs Dead Heart Bloom will release this year. It may shock some listeners when you pop this thing in because after the superb folkish album Chelsea Diaries [2007], Fall In kicks up the guitars and ventures a bit into a more rock offering. Even though I believe I prefer the quieter side of the band, like on the mellow "Nothing Will Break Me Now", DHB take full advantage of the traditional EP format and experiment some, not to mention for free download at the bands website how much can I really complain because the output is still solid!

Review by Reece Michael, The Fire Note

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Dead Heart Bloom – Studio Albums & EP Collection 2006-2010 [6CD]

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I’m sorry to say I’m a little late with this since my review of Dead Heart Bloom‘s first EP of a three-EP series, Fall In. What started off as the one-man show of Boris Skalsky has now blossomed into a three-piece band, and the EP series is now complete.

I was introduced to Dead Heart Bloom through their first EP and grew to like them a lot after checking out their older stuff. If you remember reading my review of Fall In, I found it to be an averagely good album, which explains why I didn’t feel too compelled to check out the rest of the EP series until awhile ago. It’s a good thing I did though, because each EP is so different from the last. Instead of playing the same-old same-old, Dead Heart Bloom emerge out of the shadows with experimentation that takes them nowhere wrong.

Oh Mercy has a harder taste to it, taking influences from blues, soul, gospel, and garage, and is stylistically reminiscent of bands such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Jesus and Mary Chain. This is the second EP of the series, and includes a lot more experimentation than the first, in terms of instrumentation (you can hear the sax in “There Is No Mercy,” and trumpets and strings in “Hymn”) and style (“Hymn” is a fully orchestrated tune, backed with a background choir, that sounds like it belongs in a musical).

I have to say, I did enjoy this EP. It brings lots to the senses and incorporates a lot of genres that I enjoy on their own. There is also a new voice in addition to Boris’s (or is that him singing at a higher octave?–can’t find information on it), which I found more appropriate to the music in context, but that may be because I am not used to associating a low tenor voice to this type of music. It could even be argued that Boris’s voice is more fitting for a duet with Josh Groban. Sometimes I feel it just doesn’t click. But that being said, I really liked how Boris sings in “Love Like Lies.” It adds a dark psychedelic sound to the repertoire and it really does engage the senses.

The fact that Dead Heart Bloom are experimental in nature may be cause for inconsistency, but that really isn’t the case with this EP (or the entire EP series). I remember thinking that Fall In was only held together with the vocals. Seems like the EPs have now been produced and managed in a way that brings it altogether a little better. Oh Mercy is the garage rock and In Chains is the folk. Taken altogether, you could argue they’re pretty inconsistent. But consistency can be boring, and Dead Heart Bloom definitely aren’t boring.

And if that isn’t enough to get you interested, know that Dead Heart Bloom always have their music up-for-grabs on their official site. Currently, all their EPs and full albums are available for free download, and you can never go wrong with free downloads. I think they’ve merited themselves through the EP series, however, and deserve a little monetary credit. So get your hands on these EPs and enjoy! Look out for my review of In Chains soon.

Review by Jessica, awmusic.ca

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Dead Heart Bloom – Studio Albums & EP Collection 2006-2010 [6CD]

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Here we are, down to the last installment of New York’s Dead Heart Bloom’s three part EP series. This one is called In Chains, and was released in December. This EP has gotten really good critical reviews, and has even jump-started a chain reaction (no pun intended) of success, like being a featured artist on The Frontloader and being nominated on The Deli Magazine for Artist of the Month.

In Chains has to be my favourite out of all three EPs, and mainly because there is a strong focus of folk in their music. It’s mostly acoustic guitar-driven with a Western movie sort of appeal to it. And it’s even fitting as bar music as it’s saturated with an intensely intimate feeling to it.

Not only do I love it for its musical aspect, lyrically I think it is the strongest of all EPs. Take a listen to “Flash in a Bottle” and you’ll know what I mean. They are natural storytellers who use a touch of the folksy flavour to their lyrics, so intimately told and performed it almost makes me cry.

The instrumentation, as usual, is awesome. It’s composed and produced well, and you can definitely see improvement from the first EP. It’s easier to distinguish different sounds on this EP, too, perhaps due in part to the fact that it’s a folk album. Even if it protrudes as a folk EP, it draws on many different influences like blues, jazz, and gospel/soul. I like that they also switch up the vocals (like the last EP, Oh Mercy). I guess there isn’t much difference about what I’ve said about the overall band previously through my other reviews (Fall In and Oh Mercy). I still think that Boris’s tenor voice sounds a little weird in context, but it’s something I’ve gotten used to listening to the EPs over and over again. They do make a strong duet when harmonizing like in “Farther Than You,” however. It’s a powerful tune with both voices combined.

Overall, the EPs are a fantastic trio. And it’s almost like we’ve journeyed along with Dead Heart Bloom from the way back Fall In (or even earlier if you’ve gotten to their previous releases), watching them grow and bloom into something not similar to dead hearts in In Chains. All of their music can be downloaded for free on their official website here, but I’d suggest getting all three physical copies because the covers look wicked put together side-by-side.

Review by Jessica, awmusic.ca

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Dead Heart Bloom – Studio Albums & EP Collection 2006-2010 [6CD]

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Dead Heart Bloom has evolved a long way since the days founder Boris Skalsky recorded their early records using 2 inch tape and musically keeping things more acoustic. It was not until their 2008 EP series that Dead Heart Bloom expanded into a full band and ventured outside of Skalsky's early beginnings. This sets the path for the bands third LP, Strange Waves, as it builds on the power of a true band vibe and incorporates their past different styles, while making a cohesive and structurally solid record. This mix of style is very evident here, as Dead Heart Bloom typically will start tracks off with a slower quiet entry, that builds into a sprawling chorus, only then to settle itself back down on the way out. This pattern creates some great indie moments, like on the uber catchy "Don't Worry For Me" and the album opener "Someday Will Not Come Again". The other big piece playing here on Strange Waves is its noticeable pop sensibilities, that are as simple as the Beatlesque "Sentimental Cures" or the more harmonic piano driven mix found on "Meet Me". It is the combination of all these moments that creates Dead Heart Bloom's synergy and propels Strange Waves track after track. The record can be atmospheric, pop driven, anthematic and just plain catchy, which should have this band on your radar for something smart, fresh and memorable.

Review by Christopher Anthony, The Fire Note