Gloom Balloon celebrate the release of their new album –
Drying The Eyes Of The Goddess Of Gloom, Underneath The Stars And The Moon
THE STORY
Nothing is absolute in the music of Gloom Balloon. Drying the Eyes of the Goddess of Gloom, Underneath the Stars and the Moon, Gloom Balloon’s sophomore album, dwells in the darkest shadows of the heart, where the sounds slide in all directions and ambiguity reigns.
This album is an audacious attempt to mount a fully orchestrated, classically minded conceptual work within the context of contemporary
indie rock. Both forward-thinking and backward-minded, a collision of bygone musical styles and one of the most ambitious records you are likely to hear this year.
Gloom Balloon is ex-indie rock troubadour/new father Patrick Tape Fleming’s musical canvas where he’s prone to express undying
admiration and withering disdain for the same person, often in the same sentence. The album kicks off with the lo-fi sounds of his newborn baby son Nilsson crying in the background while Tape Fleming sings: “I’ll buy you a poster for your birthday, maybe a cookie cake? I know the password to your phone, you know how to make my heart break, I just wanted to let you know how pissed I was at you for coming into my life way too late.”
Just as you think this album is going to be a mess of IPhone-fidelity recordings by a broken man, the angelic gospel whispers of bandmate Christopher Ford (Christopher the Conquered) appear with the chant, “Oh Fuck Yeah”, hinting that you have wandered past Tape Fleming in his bedroom and into another world all together.
Christopher the Conquered:
I am Christopher the Conquered. I am a songwriter, recording artist, singer, performer, and pianist. I make interstellar soul music. My vision: To bring people together through story and song. To ignite within the listener a hunger for greater self-awareness. To help listeners identify true motivation for their actions and how those actions reflect their beliefs. My approach combines sincerity with satire. Every word I sing comes from a place of love.
“It’s a little like Freddie Mercury singing selections from David Bowie’s Young Americans and the Rocky Horror soundtrack. And if that doesn’t appeal to you, then I need some time to think about us … because … because I’m not sure I know who you are anymore.” – 123 O’Clock 4 O’Clock Rock
“Christopher the Conquered is the real deal.” – Ryan Adams
Middle Folk
Middle Folk is a folk-rock/Americana band from Omaha, NE, featuring brothers Ben and Jack McLaughlin, Lukas Olson, and Erik Shouse. Their storytelling lyrics, harmonies, and organic instrumentation create a colorful sonic picture that is showcased at every live show and especially on their first record, entitled Middle Folk.
