Try as I might, there is no way to pigeonhole BLUSOM. With album art portraying a kid bashing a guitar, the acoustic guitars and laptop beats of the opening track, “On Glass”, caught me off guard. In the era of DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL clones, it’s difficult to be innovative with a one or two-piece acoustic act, but the Denver duo of Michael and Jaime manage to blend pop sensibilities with honest emotion. At times soft and sincere (but never emo, mind you) and at times ambient and creative, BLUSOM brings to mind a younger MODEST MOUSE discovering computer effects. Despite the success of MODEST MOUSE, the cynical Northwest sound is still somewhat untapped, and it’s good to see more bands outside that region experimenting with that direction. “Go Slowly…” does get somewhat slow at times, and I think the band could benefit with a bassist and a drummer. Although they are going for the moody feel, the sparse instruments leave the album seeming thin during tracks like “Iceland or Greenland”. “Off of Cliffs”, however, is a great display of the indie lap pop sound that serves as BLUSOM’s strong point. BLUSOM is right on the curve and is a fresh sound in an indie scene that seems to be moving in the direction of atmospheric electronic sounds. Give these guys some time (and maybe a few Bassist/Drummer needed flyers) and they could be something amazing.

Second Nature

www.blusom.com