The Late Bloomer
self-released; 2018
3.6 out of 5
By Jamie Funk
The Late Bloomer is the third release from Pascoe. He mentions that he has always identified with the metaphorical idea of “the late bloomer.” To paraphrase I feel like he is talking about overcoming adversity. He also explains, “This album is my first attempt to record and mix my own music. It's the first album that is a reflection of the past several years, as opposed to my first records which were reflective of my current mood and status at the time.”
The album is really stripped back with guitar and vocals playing the biggest part. In fact the opener “You Can't Be Cool All The Time” is simply some finger snaps and vocals. He has a great voice; there is no denying that. He repeats “You can't be cool all the time / But you can be sincere, yeah you can be sincere all the time.”
The title track “The Late Bloomer” was a highlight. There is a tinge of ’70’s folk in the spirit of Simon & Garfunkel. It’s warm and pleasant on the ears with a chorus effect running through the guitar. Living in Chicago I had an immediate appreciation for “It's The Damn Winter Again.” It’s an instrumental guitar track where reverb and echo play a major part to the vibe. “Laughing In Your Sleep” is fun and arguably the catchiest. There is a tinge of The Beach Boys and The Shins. I actually kept thinking this song would have sounded great with a full band.
We are greeted with lots of delay and reverb on “Déjà Vu.” It’s shorter with no real hook but quite enjoyable. Last but not least is “Far From The Tree” which revolves around ideas of success and failure.
The Late Bloomer seems like Pascoe’s best work yet. I still think he should think about hitting a studio with some session musician at some point but this album shows more progress. The stripped down approach worked for this shorter EP which was a pleasure to listen to from beginning to end.
