Thin Thin Line

• Track Listing

Kath Bloom is a legend of folk, country, blues and avant-garde music. She has been making records since the late 70s. The daughter of world-renowned oboist Robert Bloom, Kath was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, where she trained as a cellist. Her formal music education, however, soon gave way to the guitar, which was selftaught among the lonely tombstones of a nearby graveyard. Bloom collaborated with Bruce Neumann in the early '70s, but it wasn't until she met avant-garde guitarist Loren MazzaCane Connors in 1976 that she started recording. Bloom and Connors recorded six limited edition albums of fragile, simple folk and blues melodies, the majority of which were written by Bloom herself.

Their collaboration ended in 1984 with the release of their final album Moonlight. Happily, in 2008 Chapter Music brought together two of these revered LPs, along with bonus tracks, in a double-CD compilation: Sing the Children Over/Sand In My Shoe.

During a period in which Bloom was living in Florida director Richard Linklater discovered her music and subsequently featured the song "Come Here" in his 1995 film, ‘Before Sunrise’ By many accounts, the haunting allure of “Come Here” makes its defining moment in the film one of the most romantic of all time. Albums from this fertile period include Love Explosion (1993), It’s Just a Dream (1996), Love is Here (1999), and Come Here: The Florida Years (1999).

In 2000, Bloom returned home to New England. Kath, husband Stan Bronski, and Tom Hanford (a long-time collaborator from the Loren Connors days) rejoined forces as the Love At Work Band. Along the way, frequent contributors include Fran Patnaude (guitar), Chris Butler (drums) and Heidi Randall (vocals); Marty Carlson (guitar) sometimes sits in as a special guest. In addition to Kath’s own songs, Love at Work serves up a frothy homebrew of vintage roots, blues, and rock 'n' roll. In 2005, Chapter Music brought to light a number of Bloom’s undiscovered gems from the 90’s and released this gorgeous collection as Finally. This collection reveals the timeless quality of these heartbreaking, haunting and remarkably beautiful songs. Both the depth and the breadth of Kath’s song writing are on display. The Terror CD followed in 2008. Most tracks feature Bloom’s gentle guitar picking, haunting vocals, and mournful harmonica. Providing brilliant backup is the full, extended cast of band mates from Love at Work. Greeted with glowing acclaim, Loving Takes This Course: A Tribute to the Songs of Kath Bloom made its debut in 2009. This lovingly assembled tribute to Bloom’s extraordinary songwriting talent sparkles from top to bottom, and includes 16 fresh interpretations of songs from all periods of Bloom’s career, plus a bonus CD of the remarkable originals of each song. Contributors include: Marble Sounds, Bill Callahan, Laura Jean, Mark Kozelek, Mick Turner & Peggy Frew, Devendra Banhart, Scout Niblett, The Dodos, Josephine Foster, Mia Doi Todd, Corina Repp, Marianne Dissard & Joey Burns, Amy Rude, Meg Baird and The Concretes.

One thing Bloom is not doing is resting on her laurels. The songwriting continues as penetrating and prolific as ever. Her new album, Thin Thin Line will be out on Mark Kozelek’s Caldo Verde Records February, 2010. Once again Kath has mined the depths and come up with gems. Some songs tender and haunting, others filled with strength and resolve. Likely, it will burn a hole straight to your soul on the first listen. The more you hear of Kath Bloom, the more you notice it’s not just the arresting voice, but the power of the songwriting. “Beautiful” is the typical response—the kind of beauty that comes from truth, musical and lyrical. “Devasting” comments NPR’s Song of the Day. There are no good comparisons, but imagine the cool of Joni Mitchell combined with the heat of Maria Callas. In reality, she’s simply Kath Bloom: vocalist, songwriter and musician extraordinaire.

Kath Bloom ‘Thin Thin Line’