Golden Bloom

Fan the Flames

(The Sleepy West)

Record Review by Kevan Peterson

One thing should be made clear right upfront.  Shawn Fogel, the man behind the multiple layers of instrumentation, is The Golden Bloom.  Having played all the instruments on Fan the flames, ranging from your basic guitar to the not so basic tenor sax, Fogel has created an atmospheric second album that sounds full enough to be a four piece.

From the opening tune through the closing track, Fan the Flames lives up to its name.  There are songs so hot they’ll burn into your playlist, while some others are lukewarm embers that must be fanned back to life - and usually are before the song is through.  Drawing inspiration and aspiration from bands like Wilco, The Shins and Supergrass, Fogel manages to make a sound-collage that becomes his own blend of heartfelt tunes and thoughtful melodies.  The more downbeat the title, the more upbeat the song, it seems, at least melodically if not lyrically.

Songs like “Dead Petals” and “Doomsday Devices” are surprisingly fun to bob your head to, while counterparts “She Leaves Me Poetry” and the title track are more downbeat musically speaking.

“If You Believe” sparkles with its “nah-nah-nah” and “do-do-do” bridge and keeps things lively by injecting saxophone into the chorus.  Overall, The Golden Bloom manages to blossom throughout Fan the Flames, delivering one of the hotter albums of 2009.