Album review: Conny Bloom “Game! Set! Bloom!”
Electric Boys’ frontman Conny Bloom, one of Sweden’s few proper rock stars, is back with a splendid new solo album.
Ever since the 1980s, Conny Bloom has been one of Sweden’s few proper rock stars. Having made a name for himself with first Electric Boys and then Hanoi Rocks, he is now combining fronting a rejuvenated Electric Boys with a very interesting solo career. His solo work in recent years has been focused on music sung in Bloom’s native Swedish. It is rather different from Electric Boys, but it is equally good. Bloom’s solo work is an eclectic mix of singer-songwriter stuff, blues rock and other 60s and 70s-infused rock. Mainly it’s more rock and pop than the hard rock of Electric Boys and Hanoi Rocks. For those of us who understand the Swedish lyrics, it is obvious that Bloom is a proper storytelling wordsmith with humour as one of his main ingredients. While the lyrics are mainly on the funny side, most of them are also based on everyday situations. The street poetry of “Flyttkarl” is worthy of a literature prize of some sort. “Jag tror jag trollat bort mig själv” is a terrific song clocking in at 6.42 minutes. It’s hazy and jam-friendly rock – like something The Doors could have done if they had camped out in the Swedish countryside. “Gånglåt från Kärrträsk” is a splendid instrumental track combing folk music roots with haze rock. “Rulla på” is the album’s highlight for me. It’s very catchy but in a not annoying and rather understated way. The whole album has an air of playfulness about it. This is an artist who has had fun creating his solo album. The result is great.
Conny Bloom’s new solo album “Game! Set! Bloom!” is out today via Target Records.
