Shout out: Great Bloomers.

Tyler and I have hosted only a few bands on the podcast in the year we've been doing it, and we've enjoyed each one. The band I had the longest experience with before we got to interview them is Great Bloomers. I first saw them play back when they were performing songs off their first EP (Great Bloomers, 2007), a couple times more, and then was thrilled to make their CD release show at the Horseshoe this year where they showcased songs off their debut full-length (Speak of Trouble). The band is heading off on tour this summer, and I feel like it's about time I told you a little more about what I think.

This young group based in Toronto craft folk-pop Canadiana perfect for summer evenings at the cottage or backyard barbeques. The songs on this debut full length are all about romances and breakups, nostalgia, and moving on. The record is upbeat but thoughtful, youthful yet mature, built on the vocal strength of singer Lowell Sostomi and the spot-on instrumentation of his talented band-mates. And the production, care of The Wooden Sky’s Gavin Gardiner, is excellent. I especially enjoy the keyboard parts and the rare slide guitar appearance. Meant to be experienced as a whole album, it’s hard to pick just one track to post. But the various moods showcased on the album come through on “Admit Defeat.” Enjoy.

Download: Great Bloomers, “Admit Defeat” (Speak of Trouble, 2009).
Download: Great Bloomers, “Speak of Trouble” (Speak of Trouble, 2009).
Download: Great Bloomers, "Catching Up" (Great Bloomers, 2007).

The band performs in Toronto a few times over the next little while, and then they hit the road for tour stops across Canada.

Saturday, 13 June
AUX.tv secret session @ TARA (554 Queen St. East), 5pm, free. All ages. RSVP with your name the number of people coming to rsvpATsecretsessionstaraDOTcom. More information about this acoustic series is here.

Thursday, 18 June
The band performs as part of the Us vs. East showcase during NXNE @ Clinton's Tavern, $10 or free with wristband/pass. More details at the Facebook event page.

Thursday, 25 June
Ohbijou CD release show @ The Opera House. All ages, $13 (adv tix avail.). Great Bloomers open up along with Evening Hymns. Should be a fantastic night of music. Facebook.

More Canadian tour dates:

Thurs July 23 Wakefield – Black Sheep Inn
Sat July 25 Kingston – The Mansion
Sun July 26 Toronto – Wavelength at Sneaky Dees w. Jon Rae
Tues July 28 London – Black Sheep
Wens July 29 Hamilton – The Casbah
Fri July 31 Guelph – The Albion
Sat Aug 1 Sault St Marie – Loplops
Tues Aug 4 Regina – Exchange
Thurs Aug 6 Calgary - Palomino
Sat Aug 8 Vancouver - Biltmore
Mon Aug 10 Kelowna – Blue Gator
Wens Aug 12 Edmonton - Hydeaway
Thus Aug 13 Saskatoon – Lydias

Check the band's MySpace page for more tour details as they are announced in the coming weeks.

Here's the Zygiella podcast with Great Bloomers (in case you missed it the first time around).

Check out their MTV Canada live performance here.

Buy their albums over at Maple Music.

Finally, here's Colin's interview with the band: