Since his 2016 breakout, Lennon Kloser, known as Kid Bloom, has reimagined the indie sound with his dreamy, psychedelia-laced retro-pop. Based in Los Angeles, this singer-songwriter is currently signed to Island Records and Electric Feel Entertainment. He’s a talented rule-breaker who has been amassing a strong following over the past several years, making it onto several of Spotify’s curated playlists like Lorem, Anti Pop, It’s ALT Good, and more. My personal favorite track is his youthful daydream, “Parents House,” released in 2018. From the funky, disco-like grooves of his A Different State of Mind EP to the 80s pop nostalgia of his Lemonhead EP and more, Kid Bloom fuses the old with the new to create his explosive hits.
On August 14, 2020, Kid Bloom dropped the Blood Sugar EP, a seventeen-minute introspective exploration of his personal experiences and emotions, as well as his struggles with Diabetes. Guided largely by Kloser’s glossy, atmospheric vocals, most of these tracks ride along a heavy bassline and hip-hop style beats with hints of electronic production. The title track displays this rounded, sonorous instrumentation as he belts “You won't say, I'm in love, damage done, so you get into my head when I'm blind and numb.” This song’s stunning music video is an intoxicating, polychromatic nod to his previous theme of roller skating as seen on the cover of the A Different State of Mind EP and singles.
The following tracks, “Sweet Dream” and “Sledgehammer” continue this groovy synth-scape that carries into the bombastic 808s of “Wounded/Surrounded,” each track accompanied by a dynamic music video. In a shimmery collaboration with The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford, Kloser delves deeper into his personal monologue on “In One Ear.” And finally, this journey closes with the melancholy, graceful acoustic tune, “Fake A Smile,” leaving fans in that moment of putting on a good face, even when things are difficult. As he shrugs, “Everyday I get lonely, and that’s alright,” listeners are reminded that these challenges are universal. This intimate music video performance of this track concludes the EP in a very personal way, appropriate for the lyrical exposure of Kloser’s human experience. With the cohesive sound and matching audio-visuals, Kid Bloom has truly created a full sensory adventure with Blood Sugar.
Kid Bloom thrives on his 70s and 80s inspirations in his own fresh way. He reminds me heavily of Tame Impala and other psychedelic heavyweights, and fans of Kevin Parker, MGMT, or Inner Wave should dive into his electric discography. His trippy, multi-instrumental talents and experimentation will continue to take his fans into other dimensions, and we are eager for what’s to come.
Resources:
Lawson, Brianna, and Keona Frasier. “First Look: Kid Bloom Dances His Way through a Socially Distant Disco for Two.” EARMILK, 2 Sept. 2020, earmilk.com/2020/09/02/first-look-kid-bloom-dances-his-way-through-a-socially-distant-disco-for-two/.
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