rei ♡
makes me wish i went to college in bloomington earlier. this is such a beautiful album to have on vinyl, it's sad but not the kind of sad that drowns you, it's like a comfortable sadness- that holds you and tells you everything will be okay and that somebody feels the same. thank you.
Favorite track: Christmas in Dearborn.
glenrobinson
Great songs done with a full band, including Mike Adams himself. The spooky Pamela is finished off nicely with Stairway to Heaven. This is a wonderful live set featuring Owen's songs fleshed out.
Favorite track: Pamela / Stairway to Heaven.
Simon Morgan
I keep seeing Owen Ashworth's music described as depressed, depressing etc. but I don't think so. Maybe bittersweet would be a better description? It's all underscored with a very personal warmth that's life-affirming and the opposite of depressing.
Favorite track: Trisha Please Come Home.
In Bloomington is a live concert recording from December 11, 2015, documenting a rare, full-band version of Owen Ashworth's nostalgic, melancholic bedroom pop project, Advance Base.
Drawing heavily from Advance Base's previous two albums A Shut-In's Prayer (one of MOJO Magazine's top 20 albums of 2012) & Nephew in the Wild (PopMatters' #1 Indie Pop album of 2015), In Bloomington explodes the claustrophobia of Ashworth's (mostly) solo, lo-fi, drum-machine-accompanied home recordings into something grand, human & joyous, captured in glorious high fidelity.
Calling in friends & collaborators from all over the US, Ashworth assembled a 6-piece "dream band" that existed for only two public performances: a December 10 concert in Ashworth's hometown of Chicago, IL, & a December 11 concert in drummer Mike Adams's hometown of Bloomington, IN. The Bloomington concert venue, The Blockhouse, just happened to double as a recording studio, & unbeknownst to the band, live engineer Andy Beargie made a professional, multi-track recording of the entire set. Orindal Records is proud to present that recording to you as In Bloomington.
Set highlights include "The Only Other Girl from Back Home," an autoharp-driven country ballad about two Michigan teenagers whose friendship is tested when they both get jobs at the same lousy restaurant; a loose & lively rendition of the torch song "Summer Music" (notable for its propellant rhythm section, shaking tambourines & snapping reverb springs); & a lap-steel-guitar-injected revival of "Bobby Malone Moves Home," an old favorite from Ashworth's former project, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.
credits
released July 8, 2016
All songs by Owen Ashworth (BMI)
Except Stairway to Heaven (Page/Plant)
In Bloomington was performed live at The Blockhouse
Bloomington, Indiana, December 11, 2015
Recorded by Andy Beargie
Mixed by Mike Adams
Mastered by Owen Ashworth
The band:
Mike Adams - drums & Mellotron flutes
Nick Ammerman - bass
Owen Ashworth - Rhodes, autoharp, loops & vocals
Matt Barnhart - guitar & tambourine
Edward Crouse - piano
Howard Draper - lap steel guitar & tambourine
Dreamy indie rock a la Duster/Sparklehorse with interesting with dynamic shifts and subtle hooks to keep things moving along. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 23, 2024