Innocence

Irish singer-songwriter Luka Bloom writes heartfelt romantic laments that ache with spiritual longings for personal and world peace without losing the beauty and mystery inherent in such quests. His acoustic guitar leads the inquiry, but he melts his observations in gentle ambient tones of strings and horns that add a gorgeous patina to everything he attempts. “Primavera,’ “First Light of Spring,” and “June” shimmer with a meditative pastoral evocation that creates a relaxed space where the songs reach back to traditional folk melodies while retaining a contemporary feel. His Celtic roots poke through with “Gypsy Music” and the instrumental “Peace On Earth” proves he doesn’t need lyrics to convey his emotional frame of mind. However, his storytelling has its moments. “City of Chicago” recounts a famine. “No Matter Where You Go, There You Are” traces the path of a Muslim carpenter. Yet it’s the little moments that resonate most — the memories Bloom conjures up for the title track where Christmas lights and the smell of youth remind him of a past he can recall but to which he can never return.