The usual fodder of a musician's bio won't describe Patrick Bloom. Because you won't hear his roots in his music. You won't hear his birth in a tough LA housing project, or his childhood on the industrial banks of Long Island's gritty Southern Shore. And though he's commonly classified as an Americana artist, you won't be able to pick out the strains of all the artists who've influenced him. Because his work is so clearly his own, a mix of so many influences.

However, you might be able to hear the strains of Patrick's present. There is something about his songs that resembles the Iowa landscape he's claimed for himself. With an understated surface, a slow building tension, and a kind of rural prettiness, his songs climb low hills and then burst forth with the sudden onslaught of a summer storm on the prairie.

And you might hear his recent fatherhood in his music, as his songs do resemble- in moments- lullabies and nursery rhymes, before they turn over to reveal surprising ferocity and passion. Lyrics of anger and frustration, heartbreak and wanderlust, doubt and faith all coexist in these songs beneath a veneer of softness, beneath gently swelling melodies and plaintive harmonies. Sex beneath love. Violence beneath patience. Bones beneath skin.

With the onset of 2008 comes Moses, Patrick's long awaited follow up to (Songs From) The Pink Sofa. A fluid and emotionally rich collection of songs, Moses threads its way through the minutia of daily life, flawed plans, and quiet redemption. Moses is being released on Mud Dauber Records; more information can be found at www.MudDauberRecords.com or at www.PatrickBloom.com. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.