Irish singer / songwriter Luka Bloom has been working on the European mainland for many years. The tour schedule promoting this album Eleven Songs takes him to Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and of course the Netherlands, the country that has a special relationship with the man who once managed to beat Pinkpop on his own. Eleven Songs is a beautiful organic, richly arranged record, which
… does not remind you of the electronics of Tribe (2007) or the quiet simplicity of Innocence (2005). The renewed sense of urgency coalesces in Free, perhaps the key track from Eleven Songs. Bloom is annoyed by humanity's apathy for fundamental problems, and its fixation on artificial things like iPods and the Internet. Still, the song ends hopefully. Somewhere inside us all the fire is smoldering, the only question is when that will reappear. That mood, between hope and fear, also characterizes the other ten songs on this strong album. (MS)more
