Great Bloomers

"Their new LP, Speak Of Trouble, is a huge jump in sound for the band and shows a maturity that only comes from hours on stage and in the jam space. It’s quite obvious the young band is influenced by some of the greats – The Band, The Beach Boys and an affinity for Sonic Youth’s feedback and distortion come to mind for me – but even subtle tips of the cap come off as respectful instead of aping. The Great Bloomers are working hard to form their own sound and seemed more concerned with writing songs that stand the test of time. A lot of Canadian bands have exploded onto the scene and made some waves with catchy hits lately, but Great Bloomers seems to be setting up to make a career out this, instead of just writing some killer tracks that fade in this digital age." – Hero Hill - Herohill.com

Back in ’07, I wrote some very kind words about the Ontario band, the Great Bloomers. Their debut EP was a terrific mix of southern rock, distortion, piano and nicely executed Beach Boys harmonies, but was steeped in potential. Needless to say, I’ve been waiting over a year for a follow up full length – partly because they re-released the EP and partly because the band has been touring the shit out of their songs and tightening the screws so to speak – but honestly I wish more young bands would take a page from that same book.

Their new LP, Speak Of Trouble, is a huge jump in sound for the band and shows a maturity that only comes from hours on stage and in the jam space. They didn’t rush into the studio, trying to grab a stranglehold on any of the positive praise they received, opting instead to produce and release an album when it was ready, not simply when the songs were finished. Speak of Trouble explodes out of the gate with the surging epic energy of Lobbyist. They still expose some of the same Southern rock, but it’s the dazzling piano that twinkles just behind the guitars that really completes the song.

At first I was scared the album might be front loaded, as the first four songs are all can't miss efforts, until I realized they all expose different elements to the Bloomers sound. The Young Ones Slept surges along, letting Lowell's voice grab the spotlight but the crunch and transitions really play well against more terrific piano. Honey Blanket has a country shuffle, but the band adds such a blissful sheen to the song with glistening harmonies and chugging drums and you honestly can’t help but smile and enjoy the three and a half minutes. They even change the tone with a 50’s influenced piano breakdown before jumping back into a gallop and that burst of energy flows nicely into the country jam session, AM radio feel of Daylight.

It’s probably no surprise that this record is fun (just listen to the harmonies on the title track), as the band seems to appreciate the success they’ve had, the people they’ve met and the places they’ve seen. Fever Days is as honest a tribute song as I’ve heard from such a young band. They say thanks without resorting to cheesy sentiments or forced significance and even throw in a little facemelter that doesn’t derail the song.

It’s quite obvious the young band is influenced by some of the greats – The Band, The Beach Boys and an affinity for Sonic Youth’s feedback and distortion come to mind for me – but even subtle tips of the cap come off as respectful instead of aping. The Great Bloomers are working hard to form their own sound and seemed more concerned with writing songs that stand the test of time. A lot of Canadian bands have exploded onto the scene and made some waves with catchy hits lately, but Great Bloomers seems to be setting up to make a career out this, instead of just writing some killer tracks that fade in this digital age.

By the time you reach the album closer - an unpretentious rock anthem that combines piano, guitar and a booming chorus - you can't help but let it repeat. Thorn In My Side acts as the perfect closer (for the record and a live show), as the sing-along chorus will get everyone screaming and as the harmonies fade you'll be left slightly sweaty and smiling as you and some friends walk to the doors after seeing one of your new favorite bands walk offstage after another terrific set. - Herohill.com

"SPEAK OF TROUBLE highlights the abilities of Lowell Sostomi as singer/songwriter and brings together a talented band of musicians with amazing dexterity, loads of energy, and very original arrangements. I’m impressed." - Gordon Lightfoot

"Speak of Trouble shows that Great Bloomers are one of the best new bands in Canada." - iheartmusic.com

" Ascendant Toronto quintet Great Bloomers scream "CBC Radio" and "Canadiana,"… Harmonious ramblers like "Lobbyist" and "Dark Horse" recall a frillier Cuff the Duke and are emblematic of the band's fallback roots-rock stance, yet the Bloomers obviously have an ear for a broader range of pop styles, referencing a Paul McCartney piano line on the title track, echoing Mark Kozelek on "Admit Defeat" and taking air like Broken Social Scene fronted by Rufus Wainwright on chugging "The Young Ones Slept" and "This Ain't You." Closer "Thorn In My Side" is a pop hit… Gentlemen, this is totally one of those records that'll score you points with girlfriends, wives and girls that you wanna score with." - Toronto Star
- Toronto Star

“Despite the relative youth of Toronto’s Great Bloomers (both the band itself and its five members), their debut full-length is an accomplished exercise in inventive songwriting. The 11 songs draw from Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Queen and other respectable vintages, but often the tracks move effortlessly in surprising directions partway through, making Speak Of Trouble feel incredibly diverse and substantial. Solid musicianship, memorable melodies and singer Lowell Sostomi’s sincere, unruffled vocals hold everything together.” - Carla Gillis, NOW Magazine - Carla Gillis, NOW Magazine

"This is Canadian History in the making - Be part of it. The album cover perfectly reflects the music because this album should go straight to the top of the list as being the soundtrack to many lazy weekends at the cottage this summer! Sickly contagious!" - Tuesday Guide

Canada has yet again dipped into the time tested tradition of folk rock. It is a beautiful sight to behold. The blank and too often standard canvass that the folk genre has become has allowed for heaps of redundancy, monotony, and predictability to seep onto record shop shelves everywhere. In the past as now, folk rock shines when musicians recognize this tendency and confront it head on, sometimes resulting, through experimentation, in music that on its face has little resemblance to its initial root. Acts like Pavement, Broken Social Scene, Eagle Seagull, Modest Mouse, The National, and Wilco all share this readiness to experiment beyond the initial structure of verse/chorus. Toronto’s Great Bloomers have endeavored to contribute to this style with the same reflexive perspective. In less than 20 minutes, the Great Bloomers’ new self titled EP smears their biography thickly. Lyrically this EP serves as a collection of letters, never annoyingly saccharin, yet caught up in nostalgia and idealism. Catching Up opens the disc with an upbeat, high spirited pop track dressed in a symphony of feedback and speckles of unimposing harmonica. Black Rising Fire continues the EP with an awkward melody that seems lifted directly from early 1990’s pop rock, but as the song teeters it transforms into a bass walking Americana jig, which then descends into a choir of feathered voices. The energy and musicianship of the Great Bloomers is to be commended. A criticism they may have to overcome would involve their flirtation with sing-song simplicity as in the intro to Market of the Night. However every time a song approaches catastrophe they pull it out of the water. The changeups are not schizophrenic; rather they are subtle shifts in pop sensibilities from banality to the road less traveled. This modal awareness is what makes the Great Bloomers a promising troupe. Look for their full length LP coming soon. - Frederick Foxtrott

“It’s been barely a week since Speak of Trouble was released into the loving embrace of the music-consuming public, but there’s already a quiet frenzy of buzz building around the album. And curiously, many discussions of Great Bloomers seem to focus on the band’s inherent Canadianness. As far as I can reckon, the most Canadian thing about the five-piece outfit is this: the songs on Speak of Trouble demonstrate the best and most noble qualities we like to associate with our national identity. Namely, they’re delightfully affable, they’re founded in solid, salt-of-the-earth traditions (sun-bleached country, winsome melodic rock), and they have an effortless ability to make you feel really, really good.” - Sarah Liss, EYE Magazine - Sarah Liss, EYE Magazine

Soon after this Great Bloomers song started up, my first thought was 'what a really nice piece of melancholic piano-based pop'... until that extended intro ended, and the drums and irresistible guitar hook kicked in. 'Really nice' instantly elevated to 'great', and even higher as a layer of guitar squelch wandered in and out of focus underneath the ultra-catchy top layer (think certain Yo La Tengo songs, or early Idaho). And as someone who's not a huge harmonica fan (beyond, say, Neil Young), the GBs use it perfectly. This one's been on repeat... - BradleysAlmanac.com