Terror

Originally released in 2008 on Chapter Music, Terror is the first official album of new material by Connecticut folk legend, Kath Bloom - recorded at Barking Spider Studios in Warren, CT with Kath and her husband Stan Bronski. Kath was born and raised in New Haven, CT, where she learned to play guitar among the headstones of her local cemetery. She met avant-garde guitarist Loren MazzaCane Connors in 1976, and together they recorded six limited edition albums of fragile folk and blues melodies between 1981 and 1984. Her new songs, however, reveal a singer and songwriter as accomplished and affecting as Lucinda Williams or Gillian Welch. Most tracks primarily feature Kath's gentle guitar-picking, haunting vocals, and mournful harmonica, although guitarist Marty Carlson, husband Stan and long-time collaborator Tom Hanford added finishing touches to many tracks.

The material ranges from vintage to brand-new to as far back as her days with Loren ("Something To Tell You"). After her collaborations with Connors, Kath entered a period of child-rearing and family life, returning to recording in the early '90s. Director Richard Linklater discovered Bloom's music and featured her song "Come Here" in a pivotal scene in his 1995 film Before Sunrise. By then, Bloom had begun recording again in earnest, self-releasing a series of cassettes and CD-Rs. Finally, released on Chapter Music in 2006 was her first non-CD-R release since 1984. This is arresting, simple, down-to-earth folk music from a poetically-skilled lyricist with a beautifully-frayed voice.