When it comes to singing as a duo, Ash & Bloom take their cues from the masters. The Hamilton, ON pair count Simon & Garfunkel as a primary influence on their debut album, Let the Storm Come, which is due out on June 24.
The 12-song collection features tunes written with Peter Katz, Caroline Brooks (of the Good Lovelies), Julie Crochietere and Rob Szabo. This material was selected from hundreds of songs written since band members Matt McKenna and James Bloemendal met a decade ago. They used to play in the band Garner before becoming a duo.
Ash & Bloom said in a statement, "Before we recorded the album our producer suggested we watch a documentary called, The Harmony Game about the making of Bridge over Troubled Water. It was inspiring to see how Simon & Garfunkel worked and how challenging the process was. They sang all of their songs on one mic, but when you do that there's no way to hide bad pitch, blending, or a bad take. It really makes you feel like you're in the room for a show hearing the beauty and humanness and that's what we wanted to do. So we did the same thing."
Scroll past the tracklist below to hear the folksy cuts "Let the Storm Come" and "Heaven Is a Ghost Town." The former is a hushed, harmonized ballad, while the latter is a galloping barn-burner.
Also below, check out the band's upcoming tour schedule. It include a selection of Canadian dates stretching from the late spring to the late summer, with the outfit travelling as was east as the Maritimes and as far west as the Prairies.
Let the Storm Come:
1. Let the Storm Come
2. Manna for My Soul
3. Heaven Is a Ghost Town
4. You Need More Than Love
5. If You Stay
6. Give Up
7. Endless Pursuit of Cool
8. You Carry Me
9. Someday Soon
10. Your Hero
11. This Town (Hamilton)
12. Can't Get over You
Tour dates:
05/30 Guelph, ON - Jimmy Jazz
06/04 Kingston, ON - The Mansion
06/05 Ottawa, ON - Mugshots
06/06 Montreal, QC - Burritoville
06/07 Quebec City, QC - Le Knockout
06/10 Truro, NS - Champion's
06/11 Pictou, NS - Pictou United Church
06/18 Quebec City, QC - L'agitee Bar-Coop
06/19 Sherbrooke, QC - La Petite Boite Noire
06/20 Mansonville, QC - Mississquoi North Volunteer Centre
06/25 Hamilton, ON - Casbah
06/27 Thornbury, ON - Bruce Wine Bar
06/28 Toronto, ON - Rivoli
08/08 North Bay, ON - Raven & Republic
08/10 Sudbury, ON - Fromagerie Elgin
08/12 Marathon, ON - The Golf Hut
08/14 Kenora, ON - Lake of the Woods Brewing
08/15 Winnipeg, MB - West Broadway Community Ministry
09/09 Kindersley, SK - TBA
The 12-song collection features tunes written with Peter Katz, Caroline Brooks (of the Good Lovelies), Julie Crochietere and Rob Szabo. This material was selected from hundreds of songs written since band members Matt McKenna and James Bloemendal met a decade ago. They used to play in the band Garner before becoming a duo.
Ash & Bloom said in a statement, "Before we recorded the album our producer suggested we watch a documentary called, The Harmony Game about the making of Bridge over Troubled Water. It was inspiring to see how Simon & Garfunkel worked and how challenging the process was. They sang all of their songs on one mic, but when you do that there's no way to hide bad pitch, blending, or a bad take. It really makes you feel like you're in the room for a show hearing the beauty and humanness and that's what we wanted to do. So we did the same thing."
Scroll past the tracklist below to hear the folksy cuts "Let the Storm Come" and "Heaven Is a Ghost Town." The former is a hushed, harmonized ballad, while the latter is a galloping barn-burner.
Also below, check out the band's upcoming tour schedule. It include a selection of Canadian dates stretching from the late spring to the late summer, with the outfit travelling as was east as the Maritimes and as far west as the Prairies.
Let the Storm Come:
1. Let the Storm Come
2. Manna for My Soul
3. Heaven Is a Ghost Town
4. You Need More Than Love
5. If You Stay
6. Give Up
7. Endless Pursuit of Cool
8. You Carry Me
9. Someday Soon
10. Your Hero
11. This Town (Hamilton)
12. Can't Get over You
Tour dates:
05/30 Guelph, ON - Jimmy Jazz
06/04 Kingston, ON - The Mansion
06/05 Ottawa, ON - Mugshots
06/06 Montreal, QC - Burritoville
06/07 Quebec City, QC - Le Knockout
06/10 Truro, NS - Champion's
06/11 Pictou, NS - Pictou United Church
06/18 Quebec City, QC - L'agitee Bar-Coop
06/19 Sherbrooke, QC - La Petite Boite Noire
06/20 Mansonville, QC - Mississquoi North Volunteer Centre
06/25 Hamilton, ON - Casbah
06/27 Thornbury, ON - Bruce Wine Bar
06/28 Toronto, ON - Rivoli
08/08 North Bay, ON - Raven & Republic
08/10 Sudbury, ON - Fromagerie Elgin
08/12 Marathon, ON - The Golf Hut
08/14 Kenora, ON - Lake of the Woods Brewing
08/15 Winnipeg, MB - West Broadway Community Ministry
09/09 Kindersley, SK - TBA