Bloom & Grow Compact Disc

Double pocket eco-wallet including 12 page booklet with all lyrics and some lovely floral images.

A mercurial collection of songs about personal growth, self-acceptance, and the obstacles that get in the way of an individual's quest for immortality.

Each of the songs on Bloom & Grow focuses in some way on the very human drive to do better, accomplish great things, and leave something of ourselves behind. As this is no easy endeavour, themes of depression, regret, uncertainty, and self-doubt are found throughout.

It is a very mercurial album which tells the stories of a number of solitary individuals, mostly outsiders, from times present, past, and future. They deal with issues as mundane as housework, as personal as mental health, as sublime as appreciating art, and as final as facing death. There is an emphasis on the importance of mastering one's craft as well as the importance of accepting oneself.

These juxtapositions are illustrated in the album's instrumentation which ranges from the stripped down solo voice and classical guitar of 'Shoe Shopping: A Poem', to the power trio set up of electric guitar, bass, and drums on 'The Dragon'. Along the way are appearances of mournful harmonica on 'Apathy', military glockenspiel on 'The Circle', contemplative double bass on 'After the Battle', eerie flower pot on 'Garden Wish', and synths and growls on 'I am Chaos'. The emotional highs and lows of the stories are conveyed with the help of melody and dissonance, odd and shifting time signatures, and a mixture of soft and chaotic finger-picking. The voices in our heads, positive and negative, make themselves heard in the backing vocals.

This is a deeply personal album that gives a clear and unobstructed view into the heart and mind of Kyla Tilley. While it highlights the needs of the self, there is plenty to relate to in the failures and triumphs of the album's protagonists. The takeaway message of giving yourself permission to dream big and do the things that give meaning to life is meant for all listeners, and the album begins and ends with a plea to do just that.