Fink - Bloom Innocent - Acoustic (2020) [Hi-Res]

Fink inhabits an intriguing patch of the musical landscape, having worked on projects with Amy Winehouse and John Legend and his last couple of albums have been produced by Flood (U2, The Killers, PJ Harvey). It’s not a bad resume to have created over the past 20 years.

Bloom Innocent – Acoustic is just a bit different. Shortly after Bloom Innocent was mixed last year, Greenall and bandmates, Tim Thornton and Guy Whittaker spent two days in JRS studios in Berlin, re-recording the album in an acoustic format. As Greenhall recalls, “there are no overdubs or anything, we just did a few takes and picked he vibiest – or the one with the least mistakes.”

Rather than a remix, what we have here is a complete reappraisal of the songs, a different soundtrack – one that emphasizes the immediacy of these songs. The acoustic version of Out Loud feels less claustrophobic than the original, the power of the guitar replacing the synthesized backing of the original. The percussion track seems to have a less is more attitude to it, generating more forward motion. Fin suggests, “It’s a trip down my own personal memory lane, and when I sing it, it takes me to my neighborhood in Berlin and my hometown is West Cornwall.”

Part of what makes these tracks so revealing is that each track was recorded after a period of initial jamming. Clearly, this was time well spent, finding out what makes each track work in this very different context. There’s an immediacy to Once You Get A Taste. It becomes more truthful somehow, especially in a line like, “You can shoot the messenger, just get the message first.” Less re-imaginings than reconstructions, the removal of the elements of electronica provides a more focused attitude.

One of the most remarkable transitions is on the final track, My Love’s Already There. The original version is unbelievably fragile, virtually threatening to fall apart a moment’s notice. Instead of the minimalist keyboard and bass, a more full-bodied bass and vocal take over, moving the song much more forcefully in about half the time of the first version. The transformation couldn’t be more stunning.

Rather than creating new versions of the tracks on the fly, on Bloom Innocent – Acoustic, Fink moves beyond the limitations of any particular genre, developing new methods of communication. Blending the electronic and the acoustic worlds is no easy task yet Fin Greenall and company seem to have seamlessly mastered the task.