The Acoustic Motorbike – Luka Bloom

Having made his mark in America and moved back home to Ireland, Luka Bloom attempted to incorporate some of the spirit of the country where he spent four years into his Irish folk-rock, covering LL Cool J's "I Need Love" and the Elvis Presley hit "Can't Help Falling In Love." But in his own songs, he didn't go much beyond such surface aspects of the U.S. as Elvis and rap, preferring to devote himself to vague, cliched lyrics of love and longing (some of them not so much rapped as recited), once again set for the most part against his aggressive guitar strumming, various acoustic instruments, and a bottom provided by an Irish bodhran, sometimes played by his brother, Christy Moore. While Bloom's second album expanded somewhat on his first record's stylistic range and maintained its urgency, it lacked the debut's exuberance -- Bloom was getting more serious when what he needed to do was to get more substantive. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide