In Bloomington

In Bloomington is a live concert recording from December 11, 2015, documenting a rare, full-band version of Owen Ashworth's nostalgic, melancholic bedroom pop project, Advance Base. Drawing heavily from Advance Base's previous two albums A Shut-In's Prayer (one of MOJO Magazine's top 20 albums of 2012) & Nephew in the Wild (PopMatters' #1 Indie Pop album of 2015), In Bloomington explodes the claustrophobia of Ashworth's (mostly) solo, lo-fi, drum-machine-accompanied home recordings into something grand, human & joyous, captured in glorious high fidelity. Calling in friends & collaborators from all over the US, Ashworth assembled a 6-piece "dream band" that existed for only two public performances: a December 10 concert in Ashworth's hometown of Chicago, IL, & a December 11 concert in drummer Mike Adams's hometown of Bloomington, IN. The Bloomington concert venue, The Blockhouse, just happened to double as a recording studio, & unbeknownst to the band, live engineer Andy Beargie made a professional, multi-track recording of the entire set. Orindal Records is proud to present that recording to you as In Bloomington. Set highlights include "The Only Other Girl from Back Home," an autoharp-driven country ballad about two Michigan teenagers whose friendship is tested when they both get jobs at the same lousy restaurant; a loose & lively rendition of the torch song "Summer Music" (notable for its propellant rhythm section, shaking tambourines & snapping reverb springs); & a lap-steel-guitar-injected revival of "Bobby Malone Moves Home," an old favorite from Ashworth's former project, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.