Dead Heart Bloom “Dead Heart Bloom” Review

From the now defunct D.C. band Phaser, comes Boris Skalsky, aka Dead Heart Bloom. This initial release could possibly be the genesis of a musical apex, but Dead Heart Bloom’s eponymous release shows signs of fragility. In a January 2006 interview with Under The Radar magazine Skalsky disclosed his outlook on the future of continuing his personal releases and combining his talents with others, “I can also envision doing these songs—and other Dead Heart Bloom records to come—with a drummer, a cellist, a piano, or maybe a moog, a percussionist, and five guitarists, or maybe with a chorus, or an orchestra, or string quartet.” As the album stands, Skalsky uses the scattered assistance of others to accompany his craft.

“One Long Last Look” borders a little too close to an early era Pink Floyd to still consider them an influence; rather, it creates an impression that the track is his interpretation of the bands music. “Folsom Prison Blues” has an entirely different energy than the original, slowing the song to a relative stand still. DHB’s brave adaptaion seems tired however, and Cash’s power and emotion seem lost. “New Messiah” precociously sounds like The Beatles before pleasantly turning into a quirky, fuzzbox-enriched piece. Vocally, “The Marchers” sounds somewhat like a track Mark Lanigan would attempt, however it adds a welcomed tenderness which makes the song accessible. By far my favorite track on the album, however, is “Sodom.” The song uses a mid-tempo groove and the Sunrise Quartet’s strings to achieve its richness; something that the rest of the album searches for. I feel that “Sodom” shows the true impracticality of the reclusion that plagues the majority of the songs. Though collaboration can often bring about dissonance, isolated creativity is ultimately stunted without it.

Dead Heart Bloom “Sodom” [MP3]
Dead Heart Bloom “New Messiah” [MP3]