Dead Heart Bloom – Oh Mercy
I’m sorry to say I’m a little late with this since my review of Dead Heart Bloom’s first EP of a three-EP series, Fall In. What started off as the one-man show of Boris Skalsky has now blossomed into a three-piece band, and the EP series is now complete.
I was introduced to Dead Heart Bloom through their first EP and grew to like them a lot after checking out their older stuff. If you remember reading my review of Fall In, I found it to be an averagely good album, which explains why I didn’t feel too compelled to check out the rest of the EP series until awhile ago. It’s a good thing I did though, because each EP is so different from the last. Instead of playing the same-old same-old, Dead Heart Bloom emerge out of the shadows with experimentation that takes them nowhere wrong.
Oh Mercy has a harder taste to it, taking influences from blues, soul, gospel, and garage, and is stylistically reminiscent of bands such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Jesus and Mary Chain. This is the second EP of the series, and includes a lot more experimentation than the first, in terms of instrumentation (you can hear the sax in “There Is No Mercy,” and trumpets and strings in “Hymn”) and style (”Hymn” is a fully orchestrated tune, backed with a background choir, that sounds like it belongs in a musical).
I have to say, I did enjoy this EP. It brings lots to the senses and incorporates a lot of genres that I enjoy on their own. There is also a new voice in addition to Boris’s (or is that him singing at a higher octave?–can’t find information on it), which I found more appropriate to the music in context, but that may be because I am not used to associating a low tenor voice to this type of music. It could even be argued that Boris’s voice is more fitting for a duet with Josh Groban. Sometimes I feel it just doesn’t click. But that being said, I really liked how Boris sings in “Love Like Lies.” It adds a dark psychedelic sound to the repertoire and it really does engage the senses.
The fact that Dead Heart Bloom are experimental in nature may be cause for inconsistency, but that really isn’t the case with this EP (or the entire EP series). I remember thinking that Fall In was only held together with the vocals. Seems like the EPs have now been produced and managed in a way that brings it altogether a little better. Oh Mercy is the garage rock and In Chains is the folk. Taken altogether, you could argue they’re pretty inconsistent. But consistency can be boring, and Dead Heart Bloom definitely aren’t boring.
And if that isn’t enough to get you interested, know that Dead Heart Bloom always have their music up-for-grabs on their official site. Currently, all their EPs and full albums are available for free download, and you can never go wrong with free downloads. I think they’ve merited themselves through the EP series, however, and deserve a little monetary credit. So get your hands on these EPs and enjoy! Look out for my review of In Chains soon.
MP3s:
Dead Heart Bloom – There Is No Mercy
Dead Heart Bloom – Love Like Lies
Tags: EP
