Review: Bill Laurance's Bloom marks a grand transition from intimate duo collaborations to a widescreen orchestral spectacle. Teaming up with Manchester's Untold Orchestra, Laurance delivers a riveting fusion of classical sensibilities, jazz improvisation, and pop grooves. The eponymous opener features dark string chords expanding into a rhythmic journey with piano melodies and hypnotic improvisation. Inspired by his child's imaginative capacity, Laurance crafts a sonic landscape that evokes Baroque, Vivaldi, and modern influences, all while maintaining a sense of wonder and exploration. The Untold Orchestra shines in their tightness and sensitivity, elevating Laurance's compositions to cinematic heights. With Bloom, Laurance strikes a delicate balance between technical mastery and emotive storytelling, creating a stunning listening experience that invites listeners to lose themselves in its dreamlike realms.
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