LISTEN:
You don’t need to understand the backstory of “Help Me Understand” to know that there’s something spiritual and restorative happening when Bloom makes music. Originally from Selkirk, MB, multi-instrumentalist songwriter Daniel Monkman is now based in Hamilton, ON, where he and bandmates Jonathan Tiberious, Jessie Golem, Ev Charlotte, and Daniel Wintersman are working at making music that’s equal parts art and medicine.
“Help Me Understand” is a densely packed sonic landscape built around movements meant to represent triumph over addiction, racism, oppression, and self-destructive practices. Bloom throws up a massive My Bloody Valentine-style wall of sound meant to drown out the external voices and distractions that get in our way; the wail of white noise offers retreat and provides space and time for reflection. The wall-of-sound guitars are recorded at 528 Hz, the frequency that some say has the ability to heal damaged DNA. Whether that’s true or not doesn’t diminish the effect “Help Me Understand” has on listeners. Monkman’s poetic words and Bloom’s collective playing offer the overactive mind a quiet, contemplative respite, born out of a desire to make something honest and good for others. Mission accomplished.
