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Jun 18, 2009 Various Artists By Kyle Lemmon

Kath Bloom is the daughter of the famous concert oboist Robert Bloom, and was raised in New Haven, Connecticut, where she trained as a cellist. The folk luminary’s six self-released CD-Rs and various cassettes are highly-sought after collectibles but most people would draw blanks if her name was brought up in conversation. The reason behind her anonymous nature is simple. Though Bloom’s been cutting records off and on since the late ‘70s, she took a long hiatus to raise her kids after her record with Loren Mazzacane Connors (1984’s Moonlight). After leaving for much of the ‘90s, Bloom returned to the public eye, resulting in some releases and her latest album, Finally, released on Australia’s Chapter Music in 2006. Recently, the avant-garde legend has received a resurgence from the indie community. Devendra Banhart, Bill Callahan, and Mark Kozelek talk about her in the same way others discuss Vashti Bunyan, Linda Perhacs, and Kate Wolf. That interest resulted in Bloom’s “Come Here” being featured in the Richard Linklater-directed film Before Sunrise and this lovely covers compilation, Loving Takes This Course: A Tribute to to the Songs of Kath Bloom.

Loving‘s concept is straightforward, yet deeply resonant. The first disc is a patchwork of covers, featuring 16 indie musicians re-interpreting selected Bloom tracks. The final disc features the original numbers in the same order. The appeal of the whole package lies in the translation and breadth of diversity. And of course the lovelorn originals shine the brightest. That being said, most of the covers don’t take too many chances with the material. It’s a shame because folk music is the closest to a blank slate as you can get. The best translators make the song their own. The Dodos add horns on “Biggest Light of All,” Marble Sounds transforms “Come Here” into hazy psychedelia, while Stockholm’s The Concretes’ end the first disc with amped-up skiffle-pop with their own version of “Come Here.” Devendra Banhart doesn’t phone it in on “Forget About Him.” The reggae beat and Tex Mex organ mesh surprisingly well. The best acoustic adaptations includes Bill Callahan’s close-miced, “The Breeze/My Baby Cries,” a pastoral cut suited perfectly for his stentorian voice. In comparison, Bloom’s original version is a lo-fi mirror on the world of a pain-stricken daughter.

One of Bloom’s greatest champions is Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon frontman Mark Kozelek. He’s often covered “Finally” on the road and featured it on a 2009 covers EP, but his studio version is just as threadbare. The major stress is on his deep, morose vocals and his free-flowing finger-picking style. In contrast, Kath Bloom’s delicate handling of “Finally” is a testament of the rest of her songs and career. She rarely makes grand gestures in her simple folk songs and only with the avant-garde guitarist Loren Mazzacane Connors at her side does it broach the kind of spacey California-centric folk of Linda Perhacs or Kate Wolf. Loving Takes This Course is a competent tribute compilation. San Francisco director Caveh Zahedi toiled for two years putting this together, and the effort is tangible. It’s about time Bloom grabbed the spotlight, even if her raw songcraft has to be presented through a indie-rock filter. (www.myspace.com/kathbloomchapter)

Author rating: 7/10