WILSN, BLOOM

Shannon Busch, who grew up in Melbourne, Australia and performs under the stage name WILSN, carries a long devotion to 60s soul and jazz music that reaches back to childhood, when Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday formed the foundation of her vocal world. In her teens Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Amy Winehouse, and Beyoncé joined that list. She describes her voice as a mix of those classic and modern lines, shaped by years of singing and jazz training at the Victorian College of the Arts. There Busch developed a close circle of musicians who became long-term collaborators and helped her understand how to build arrangements that honor tradition while finding her own lane. Time in Nashville, writing for other artists, and touring with The Teskey Brothers helped her realize that there are audiences for any kind of music and that she could pursue her love of soul.

Her 2023 debut album, Those Days Are Over, was met with popular and critical success in Australia, garnering WILSN attention and awards. She now returns with her second album, Bloom. The album was recorded at Hive Mind Recording, an analogue studio in Brooklyn, New York, where she worked with musicians for Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, Thee Sacred Souls, and Jalen Ngonda. Working shoulder to shoulder, four players in a small room, the fourteen songs on the album were tracked live to tape from start to finish. She had imagined working this way since childhood and describes the sessions as landing in the exact shape she envisioned, the music taking on its form in real time.

As each year comes to a close, I am always on the hunt for that one special album that has the year ending on a high note. With Bloom I found it. From the first guitar strum of The Way, with its bright lift and groovy rhythm, I was taken by Bloom. WILSN’s love of 60s soul pop jazz is handled here with care and affection, the album bringing a Motown pulse that's warm, welcoming, and simply irresistible. This is the perfect antidote for any day where a smile feels out of reach. 

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