City Lights Bloom

by JACK DIABLO
published: May 2, 2009

If you're looking to expand your awareness of new local and touring bands, there is no better place in Jacksonville than Eclipse to get your fix. Lisa Thomas, the venue's promoter, consistently recruits talented national acts and pairs them with some of the best local talent Jacksonville has to offer to create shows that are both affordable and memorable.

Recently, Gliss stopped by and played a show with Jacksonville's City Lights Bloom and Crash The Satellites.

If post-rock is your thing, City Lights Bloom is right up your alley. Sometimes bands that fall into the genre get lost in the mix but CLB's roster includes an auxiliary percussion/glockenspiel section as well as a recently added violinist to make them stand out. The band is relatively new on the scene but have already played Harvest of Hope and opened for The Appleseed Cast at Jack Rabbits.

One of the challenges of playing instrumental music is making the performance engaging enough to make up for the absence of a vocalist. But City Lights Bloom have no problem overcoming this obstacle. As if the sound wasn't already intoxicating enough, Brandon Highfill's lightning-fast guitar strumming is absolutely dizzying to watch and with as many participants as the band boasts, there is always something new to pick up on.

Currently, you can pick up the band's EPs at one of their shows. Each one features unique album artwork. Soon, though, the band plans to release their full length album, alone we thought we stood. Until then, check out their MySpace page for show dates and ear candy. - EU (Entertaining U)