“Scars” is the latest EP from artist Mike Bloom. It’s wonderfully musical, exceptionally warm, and extraordinarily poetic. It’s a collection of songs that were pure expressions of his soul, collected over the years in between session work for other artists. Each of them is a stunning work of art of its own. Mike Bloom had this to say about the decision to release them together: “Across time, they somehow found their way to one another and became a whole other body, I guess. I’ve just had to recognize it and be the kind shepherd of these little spirit animals in musical clothing”.
We begin with “Gaslight” and it’s an instant classic. This is a song that transcends time. A beautiful poem accompanied by haunting melodies delivered in a beautiful, intimate performance. I had goosebumps on my first listen. The intro with that sweet, warm nylon-strung guitar is played with enough emotional honesty to hook you on the rest of the ride.
The ride continues with a taste of Americana: “Damnedest Times”. This song has that movie soundtrack quality to it, given how cinematic its music and lyrics are. My favorite line is “But who are we, A colony of only you and I… Going out of our minds”. The melody on this track is great and very inviting for sing-alongs.
“I Want the Light” feels somehow more intimate than the previous songs and more vulnerable, with the lyrics being more straightforward, going through a list of wants. It’s almost like a prayer. A prayer in a folk song broken up by intermittent breaks of beautiful nylon string playing resembling the guitar style of Estas Tonne. “Nice Knowing Me” takes us on a more alt-pop-inspired journey. A wistful, wry journey with a perfect anthemic chorus at that. Even has a warm guitar solo between choruses. Mike Bloom really showcases his musicality with the harmony and arrangement choices of this song.
The story is far from over, as the final two songs are the most harmonically rich and lyrically dense. They are drastically different songs, though, with “Sun Tea” being more like a 70s rock song with its dramatic chord changes and orchestral strings, and “Devastator” embracing an indie folk sound with the lyrics unfolding a complete linear narrative arc with no choruses, just telling a gripping story that I dare not spoil from point A to B. The perfect end to an EP with such a dramatic flair.
“Scars” is Mike Bloom stepping out from behind the scenes and finally letting us hear what he’s been working on all this time. Across these six tracks, you get a real sense of his songwriting voice; there’s a kind of timelessness here, like he’s not interested in chasing whatever’s popular right now. The nylon string guitar is the beautiful glue that holds the whole EP together, even as the songs shift between different moods. I am recommending this EP to all my friends because it’s just what real music should be: beautifully honest storytelling.
