By Oliver Sasha
With his new single ‘Sugarcoat’, Kid Bloom’s elegant composed sound takes yet another cataclysmic turn towards the centre of mainstream indie music. Sitting amongst a diverse and competitive backdrop of unsigned bedroom pop artists (Roy Blair, BOYO to name a couple), Kid Bloom has begun flirting with the idea of bridging his music between idiosyncratic dream pop and the more commercial areas of that elk, such as The 1975, CHVRCHES and The Japanese House.
In ‘Sugarcoat’, Synth chords initially open up a cauldron of possible directions for the song, but once the music develops the track is anything but ambiguous in tone. ‘Sugarcoat’ is a relatable and thoroughly accessible moment in Kid Bloom’s coloured discography, with textures of indie slackerisms still present, and now with a scuffed boot in the door of the wider pop landscape, Kid Bloom is embarking on a one man battle with the industrial army of the musical establishment.
Although much of this new single hints towards a more professional approach , the syncopated drum and guitar arrangements turn the clock back to his earlier material. Initial accomplishments such as ‘Different State of Mind’ project a fluorescent journey through a cascading Vanilla Sky-esque dream sequence that draws attention to the linear path of Kid Bloom’s characteristic sound. Although less commercial, and less likely to be found in the Billboard 200, the modest production style and greater focus on instrumentation brings forth a kaleidoscope of emotion. Submerged by the transient drum and bass groves, ‘Different State of Mind’ is an underwater affair that can make even the biggest of soft boys cry.
In Kid Bloom’s new single though, the charismatic rhythm sections are replaced by a refined focus on melody and indulgence. Sticking to his Mac Demarco dress code and still with a sizeable stake in the dream pop manifesto, you get the sense that ‘Sugarcoat’ is what Matt Healy would write if he was much less into class As and the internet and much more into tapestries and edibles. With the vocal performance the undeniable nucleus of the track, Kid Bloom has taken a bold but positive step in shattering the barriers between lo-fi pop and the ambiguous world of mainstream music.
Listen to ‘Sugarcoat’ here:
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