Pass Through Here
marks singer and songwriter
Kath Bloom
's return to
Chapter Music
. The label released her 2005 set
Finally
and 2008's
Terror
. They also reissued four of six albums she recorded with
Loren Mazzacane Connors
during the late '70s and early '80s, and the various-artists comp
Loving Takes This Course: A Tribute to the Songs of Kath Bloom
. This is her first full-length since 2010's
The Thin Line
.
is striking in contrast to the rest of her catalog.
Bloom
took her music from Connecticut to the West Coast for this date and was aided by a cast of younger musicians led by guitarist/engineer
Jeff Hassay
and drummer/backing vocalist
Levi Strom
. While the instrumentation and sonic textures that frame her iconic warble are different, the power in her lyrics, melodies, and idiosyncratic guitar playing remains dead center.
Hassay
also weaves expertly placed synthesizers through many of these tunes. They paint the margins, underscore basic instrumentation, and never intrude. The use of several alternate backing vocalists is arranged uniquely track by track. "Criminal Side" is a perfect example and a true set highlight. The meld of strummed acoustic guitar, beautifully woven slide, and brushed drums is appended by wordless three-part male and female harmonies. They frame what is simultaneously an angry political song and a paean to personal responsibility. The brief "Discovery," with its own wordless vocal, features
's wailing harmonica, a recurring synth line,
's electric guitar, and clipped tom-toms. It foreshadows the psych-folk in "I'm Getting Close to You," whose group interplay echoes that found on
David Crosby
's
If I Could Only Remember My Name
. The title track, with its minor-key strummed acoustic, is perhaps the most straightforward tune here, but its luscious expansive harmonies add melodic support to the conviction in
's gorgeous lyric. "Brand New" and "Shirt Off Song" use basic country and folk melodies, but are subtly turned and shape-shifted with soft, textured instrumental touches. The vocal on "Bye Bye" feels like it hovers above its mix. The slide electric guitar, fingerpicked acoustic, and
's harmonica paint a backdrop for her poignant lyric, which goes beyond the first person in its spiritual and emotional implications. The basic melody adds depth and weight to
's soulful from-the-margins point of view. While
is a continuation of the long sojourn
has been on for the last four decades, it also marks a new beginning, one fraught with as much musical possibility as hard-won, hard-lived wisdom. ~ Thom Jurek