Hailing from America, Dizzybloom are a band who draw from a wide range of influences to craft a mesmerising sound that is as exquisite in arrangement as it is in performance. Offering up five tracks, ‘heroes for ghosts’ is the band’s fourth release and it offers a fine introduction to Dizzybloom’s strangely timeless world. Curiously unaffected by any trends occurring in popular music, the band tap into the same lush vein of inspiration that powered Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ and ‘Tusk’ whilst adding in healthy doses of Pink Floyd, latter-day Anathema and The Gathering for good measure. The result is a record you’ll be pleased to listen to time and again and by the time the lengthy ep closer, ‘power and light’ reaches its conclusion you’ll be utterly hooked.
The EP opens with ‘Lost memories’ and you’ll be immediately grabbed by the rich, warm acoustic tone that greets you. Mark Hallman is clearly a more than capable producer and his production is perfect on this disc, rendering the various instruments and sounds with a clarity that recording artists with a far larger budget would envy. There’s a progressive feel to the song that recalls Steve Thorne’s work and as ethereal piano and throbbing bass drift through the mix, Ashley Glover emerges with a voice that could capture the heart of millions as she wends her way through the song, rippling over minor-key shifts and gently working her way deep into your heart. ‘Close your eyes’ adds layers of richly textured synth and some stunning guitar work, emphasising the progressive aspect of the band’s sound. It’s a brave sound the band pursue, subtle, intriguing and inventive, it has instant appeal, but work through the layers and you realise that for all its superficial simplicity, the arrangement here is carefully worked out and perfectly structured, meaning that every time you return to the EP you’ll hear something new. ‘The silent heart’ is a perfect folk-infused pop song designed to capture your heart and leave you bereft when it comes to an end. It’s the sort of song that would (rightfully) have crawled up the charts and gained the band massive recognition, but it’s subtle and beautiful ambience is, alas, not likely to trouble the modern mainstream.
Perhaps the most superficially surprising track on offer here is the band’s cover of Aerosmith’s classic ‘dream on’ and yet Ashley more than does it justice, taking the song and making it her own in a way that few singers could. Musically the band steer close to the original whilst placing their own unique stamp on things, and it’s hard to imagine another band doing similar justice to such a classic track. The final track, ‘power and light’ is an eleven minute epic that recalls vintage Pink Floyd with its organ work and lengthy intro only giving way to vocals after five minutes of sublime instrumental interplay. It’s a wonderful conclusion to an EP that is never less than inspirational, and it suggests great things lie ahead for the band.
‘Heroes for ghosts’ marks out Dizzybloom as an original, exceptionally talented and inspired band. An EP that does not dip in quality for one second, it has the sort of richly detailed sound that you can slip into like a hot bath, allowing the music to flow around you soothing and caressing away the cares of the day. Ashley Glover, while she has subsequently been replaced (having been only temporarily in the band) by Amy Whitcomb on the more recent album ‘oceans’, is a wonderful vocalist who takes each song and makes it her own whilst the band weave their magic around her and Billy Preston’s arrangements are carefully wrought so that each track has depth and emotional resonance. Progressive without being overly complex, atmospheric and mesmerising at times, ‘heroes for ghosts’ is a beautiful EP and one that marks out Dizzybloom as an exciting and important act more than worthy of your time.
