When Bloom takes himself too seriously, however, as he does on ballads such as "Here and Now," he's duller than a sack of spuds. While the slow tempos of such numbers showcase the singer's heart-on-his-sleeve delivery, they also sport stanzas so generic they'd make the Indigo Girls blush. Sample line from "Love Is a Place I Dream Of": "Someday I will cross the world for you/No matter how far/Just to be there." He fares slightly better on "Hands of a Farmer," a touching if underdeveloped elegy to traditional Irish musician Micho Russell that combines Bloom's flair for nature-inspired imagery with an actual subject.
Overall, perhaps the best that can be said about this CD is that, with nary a song over four minutes, Bloom at least has the sense to keep it short. Not even backing vocals from Sinéad O'Connor, present on several cuts, can save this one.