Between the Mountain and the Moon

1	Monsoon
2	Here and Now
3	Perfect Groove
4	Love Is a Place I Dream Of
5	Gabriel
6	Soshin
7	Moonslide
8	As I Waved Goodbye
9	I'm a Bogman
10	Rainbow Day
11	Hands of a Farmer

Barnes & Noble

For his first album of original songs in four years, Luka Bloom took his time, quietly writing and recording in Dublin’s revered Windmill Lane Studios. The result is a superb, soulful, and serene CD of starkly beautiful ballads that marry powerful Yeatsian romanticism -- with all its love, longing, age-old suffering, mysticism, and elemental, carnal essence -- to an uplifting Zen-like acceptance. The memorable melodies meld traditional forms with rich, acoustic Irish, Indian, and Arabic/Moorish instrumentation. Bloom’s expressive tenor flows from the sweeping opener, a Leonard Cohen-style drone-rap to physical passion ("Love Is a Monsoon"), to the jaunty Indo-Celtic march about seeking a "love that’s simple and true" ("A Perfect Groove"). A compassionate-love song cycle to real-life heroes is highlighted by a sublimely mournful duet with Sinéad O’Connor about an Irishwoman aiding Vietnamese children ("Love Is a Place I Dream Of"); a hymn to Bloom's son ("Gabriel"); and two ancient-sounding ballads ("As I Wave Goodbye," "Hands of a Farmer"). Other standout tracks include the haunting, seductive plea, also sung with O’Connor, to "come in love" ("Moonslide") and a stately dirge-dance ("I’m a Bogman"). Much like the cover photo, these songs stretch and flutter in the wind between mountain and moon like colorful Tibetan prayer flags. --Janie Matthews

All Music Guide

On Keeper of the Flame, Luka Bloom offered interpretations of a number of other artists' songs. The success of the project hinged on the odd choices, such as the Cure's "In Between Days" and ABBA's "Dancing Queen." On Between the Mountain and the Moon, Bloom presents his first set of original songs in four years. While the earlier album utilized an acoustic sound, this album, while mostly acoustic, broadens its arrangements. The spoken poetry and vocals of the sonically expansive "Monsoon" will remind one of a folk Peter Gabriel, while the excited percussion of "Perfect Groove" evokes a contemporary Irish jig. Bloom seems in an optimistic mood on Between the Mountain and the Moon, singing about love in "Moonslide" and "Love Is a Place I Dream Of" and the power of nature in "Here and Now." A touch of pensive melancholy enters "Gabriel" and "Soshin," but this is only a passing mood. If this album ultimately seems less satisfying than Keeper of the Flame, it's because many of the songs lack strong melodies. Bloom may put more effort into his lyrics than the average contemporary Celtic performer, but the songs lack a distinctive quality to separate them from the songs of his peers. Still, Between the Mountain and the Moon features Bloom's rich voice, and will be welcomed as a good, if not great, album by fans. Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.