Great Bloomers

On Great Bloomers' Distant Fires, the band that made the forlorn catchiness of 2009's Speak of Trouble are only an indistinct memory. Gone are the rhyming couplets and Elephant 6-lite sound, as well as the original backing band, for that matter, which caused critics across Canada to first take notice. In their place is a road-worn and thoughtful set by a group that has fully matured into their hype. Anchored by lead singer/songwriter Lowell Sostomi's Bill-Callahan-by-way-of-Tom-Petty croon, Distant Fires smolders with 11 tracks of Jon McKiel meets Rust Never Sleeps shred ("Slowly in Your Gaze," "I Wanna Die Young"), Full Moon Fever precision ("Nighttime," "The Fire Burns Strong") and Dave Berman candour ("Fear Will Make a Fool of You"). Great Bloomers are no longer a band flirting with diverse musical styles. Distant Fires makes rock'n'roll sound distinctly their own.