''Bloom'' is the second album by the American musical duo

Billy Pilgrim ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to ...

, released in 1995. The duo was dropped by Atlantic Records the following year. The album peaked at No. 37 on ''Billboards Heatseekers Albums chart. The first single was "Sweet Louisiana Sound", which was a minor radio hit. The duo promoted the album by playing shows with Blessid Union of Souls and labelmate Mary Karlzen, among others.

Production

The album was produced by Richard Dodd. It was recorded at Treasure Isle Studios, in Nashville. The backing band included Mike Campbell,

Sonny Landreth Clide Vernon "Sonny" Landreth (born February 1, 1951) is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, and settled in Lafayette, Louisiana. He lives in Bre ...

, and

Garry Tallent Garry Wayne Tallent (born October 27, 1949), sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being bass player and founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band si ...

Critical reception

The ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'' wrote that the "lead track, 'Sweet Louisiana Sound', is an upbeat four-four kicker with a hint of a bayou twang that resists the duo's propensity for overly earnest, over-simplified, folk pop." ''

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...

'' called the album "better in almost every way than the group's self-titled debut: catchier, tougher when need be, lyrically more compelling." ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' determined that "the soaring vocal harmonies of Andrew Hyra and Kristian Bush and jamming rhythm guitars can invoke Don Henley and The Eagles." '' The Record'' deemed the album "outstanding," writing that "Billy Pilgrim makes folk-based pop music the way it was meant to be made." The '' Daily Herald'' concluded that ''Bloom'' "places the group somewhere between the jangly guitar-rock sound of the Gin Blossoms and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and the more countrified 'heartland rock' approach of the Jayhawks, Wilco and the BoDeans."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote that "although sonically consistent and clean, the overall feel of the album is a bit sterile, a tad slick, a touch predictable."

Track listing

References

{{reflist 1995 albums Atlantic Records albums