Blooming Roses

Doug Hoekstra | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 19, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wing Ding Records
• ASIN: B000YZZYB6
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,461 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The lyrical, folk-y route usually limits a songwriter, but its always given Doug Hoekstra an incredible amount of space to roam.  The title track of his forthcoming album, Blooming Roses, begins with the line I was walking through public housing, flyers in my hand.  Hoekstra uses such seemingly trivial details to build engrossing stories that strike out from the folk idiom into a surreal, distinctly modern world.  Like previous efforts, Roses  is sonically diverse but clutter-free, trying everything from acoustic performances to tastefully applied pianos, strings, clarinet, and harmonies. --Scott Gordon, The Onion

Product Description

A lot of people write songs, Hoekstra writes five-minute worlds (Wired Magazine). Doug Hoekstra is a unique and compelling artist whose work has been heralded by critics, djs, and fans throughout the U.S. and Europe. Raised in Chicago and based in Nashville, he has earned a well-deserved reputation as a man with an ear for a phrase and an eye for detail, a songwriters songwriter (CMJ Music Monthly).

Doug Hoekstras latest project, Blooming Roses, features all of the Hoekstra hallmarks honest vocals, narrative lyrics, emotive chord changes and impeccable musicianship. From the soul vibe of the title track (Blooming Roses) to the atmospheric groove of the closer (Everywhere is Somewhere), the music is infused with mood and purpose, creating a unified and rich musical landscape that stands as Hoekstras strongest work to date. An advance review in Brighton Magazine UK referred to Blooming Roses as a peerless set of gemspsychedelic folk-flecked Americana. The CD was recorded primarily at True Tone Recording studios in Nashville, with David Henry producing (David Mead, Josh Rouse, Vienna Tang) and a bevy of Nashvilles finest helping achieve its dreamlike cohesion. The albums closing track was cut in Stavanger, Norway at Out of Tunes Recording with members of Thomas Dybdahls band (Oyvind Berekvam, Eirik Lye) at the helm.

Blooming Roses also works as both companion piece and follow-up to his first full-length collection of prose, Bothering the Coffee Drinkers, a book that was published in 2006 to rave reviews and earned a Bronze Medal for Best Short Fiction in the Independent Publisher Awards (IPPYs). As Paste Magazine noted, Music runs like a liquid vein through these 80-proof experiences. Hoekstra pours it out with a Dylan-esque fervor, giving us a sputtering catalog of beauties and terrors

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Another masterpiece. . ., April 4, 2008

By 

Mark Twain (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blooming Roses (Audio CD)

I've been a Hoekstra fan for a while now and he always finds ways to surprise and provoke. That's what I like about the guy's music, it's intelligent, sure, but there's a subtleness that still manages to - lyrically and musically - move into unexpected and fresh directions.

As for Blooming Roses, I don't think I'm being hypey when I say it's his best since Make Me Believe (my personal favorite). Great stuff. And the backing group behind Hoekstra throws in more than enough beauty and hooks to make everyone happy.

If you like top-notch Americana/Rock 'n Roll/Great Music, then you'd most likely love this album as much as I do.

5.0 out of 5 stars Music made for listening, February 23, 2008

By 

Juke Jar (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blooming Roses (Audio CD)

Doug Hoekstra has always been a cerebral songwriter with catchy tunes to keep the poetic lyrics flowing, and Blooming Roses continues that trend. In addition to stellar songwriting and musicianship, Hoekstra's sometimes over-looked talent for record producing clearly shows in Blooming Roses. All those years strolling Music Row have really paid off . . .

Another excellent CD release by the artist who is also the author of Bothering the Coffee Drinkers. Get 'em all. Your book and CD libraries will be the better for it.

5.0 out of 5 stars New cd is Hoekstra at his soulful best, February 21, 2008

By 

Corey Mesler (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blooming Roses (Audio CD)

I love this new cd by Doug Hoekstra. It seems to me the kind of soulful folk (or alternative folk, as some would have it) that, after a few listenings, gets inside you and works like a musical mojo. That is to say, these are memorable tunes, presented with lovely, lilting production, with just the right amount of graceful instrumentation and background voices. Hoekstra's voice has always been a pure delight, his delivery soft and sensuous, and his words are worth paying attention to. Thoughtful and smart songs abound here but my favorites are the title song, "Part of the Problem, Part of the Solution," (which really cooks) and the closing song, "Everywhere is Somewhere," which is just hauntingly beautiful. If this is your first Hoekstra cd this will drive you to go back and get everything else.