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MAX BLOOM announces solo record ‘Pedestrian’
Max Bloom (previously of Yuck) has announced details of a new solo record entitled ‘Pedestrian’, set for release on June 18 through Bloom’s own new label, Ultimate Blends. Along with the announcement he has shared the album’s title track and accompanying video.
The album ‘Pedestrian’ takes its listener into the outside world. And it was here, wandering the city streets and parks against the surreal backdrop of the last twelve months, that Bloom discovered his inspiration for this latest collection of songs. He found himself observing his surroundings and people’s behaviour in a new light.
“I was contemplating a lot of things when I was trying to come up with the lyrical themes” Bloom says, discussing the album and specifically its title track, which is online now. “I listened to this instrumental a lot when I was out running, and I remember seeing the word ‘Pedestrian’ on a road sign. It made me contemplate what a pedestrian is, and what the word represents. As pedestrians, we’re all trapped in our own individual worlds but when something cataclysmic happens, we’re all brought together. I think about death a lot, and I think about what humans are and whether we are the only intelligent life in the universe. So I guess this song explores both of those feelings at the same time.
Musically, the song “Pedestrian” is built around an electric piano refrain, shimmering synths, a trumpet hook, slapback echo drums, and layers of vocal harmonies.
Over the past year, Max Bloom discovered the benefits of running. At the start of making Pedestrian, he found this new habit was keeping him focused and balanced, but unexpectedly, it also began fuelling a burst of songwriting inspiration. And over the months, a regular cast of companions (namely Spoon, Beck, and Yellow Magic Orchestra) accompanied Bloom on these increasingly lengthy runs. These references, alongside core influences like Wilco, George Harrison, and Grandaddy, helped bring a fresh pallet of sonic colours and textures to ‘Pedestrian’.
As the album took shape, Bloom felt a desire to follow a more direct and melodic route than in his previous work. He also found liberation in the recording process, playing all the instruments on ‘Pedestrian’ himself, aside from the virtuosic drums, which were handled by Adam Gammage (Charli XCX, Baxter Dury). The album was recorded in Hackney in Bloom’s newly completed home studio, and having access to his equipment whenever inspiration would strike was crucial to the free-flowing creative process.
‘Pedestrian’ is the first release on Bloom’s new label, Ultimate Blends, which will be a home to all of his future projects and productions. Bloom has also designed individual artworks for every song on this album, and animations for its forthcoming singles. He also hosts podcast JEW-ISH, a series of one-to-one interviews with Jews from a range of different cultures and backgrounds, aiming to show the nuance that exists within the Jewish world. Listen here.