Review: Camille Bloom Gets Personal on ‘Pieces of Me’
Seattle based artist Camille Bloom gets very personal on her fifth full-length album, Pieces of Me, set for release in September 2016. Self-produced and recorded at her new home studio, Bloom delivers ten new tracks that reveal the breadth and depth of her songwriting skill, mixing together folk, funk and dance-pop into one consistent package, laced with themes of heartbreak, life, love, loss and perseverance.
Bloom invited some impressive friends to join in the effort, beginning with the dulcet cello from Gretchen Yanover, whom essentially duets with Bloom on the soaring opening track “Lift Me Up.” The title track is a mashup of Klezmer and hip-hop, with marvelous rhythmic counterpoints from percussionist Logan Billingsley and Zack Barden on mandolin underscoring Bloom’s tale of a tug-of-war in a complicated relationship.
Straight from the pages of her travel diary, the rocking “Hit The Road” spells out the life of a hard-working troubadour. Bloom returns to her acoustic guitar for the soul-searching ballad “Turn Back to You,” digging deep into the source of love. Euro-pop elements underscore the sociopolitical rant on our culture’s addiction to tech and media on “Zombie.” Bloom then takes to the piano for the lover’s lament “Everywhere But Here.”
The energy kicks back up for the time-shifting rocker “I Refuse To,” an anthem of inner strength. The cheeky love song “Nice To Meet You” features a playful sing-along and some nice jazzy island textures. The desperate plight of mental illness is championed during the pleading track “Novocain.” The album closes with another ballad of self-empowerment, “In Another Life,” with Bloom continuing to play to her strength of offering songs of promise.
(Pieces of Me will be available to purchase via http://www.camillebloom.com/ upon its release next month. Stream the track “Hit The Road” below via ReverbNation.)
