Review: Machine Gun Kelly – bloom

2
80%
80
Charming

Bloom will not only fascinate with its tone and experimentation but also serve for a comfortable chill out and blitzing tune or two to let loose to.

With bloom, Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly returns to centre stage to confront mortality, his past, and his future. A leap from Kelly’s comfort zone, it is rewarded for such by being a simultaneously enthralling and alluring piece, designed to charm the listener into believing they too are the ‘Alpha Omega.’ Littered with features, new sounds, and Dragon Ball Z references – where would we be without the brief yet common reminders that he is a Super Saiyan? – the record truly takes his concepts and stark ideas to the forefront.

Opening with the hard-hitting and concurrently icy ‘The Gunner,’ Kelly offers only a moment to turn a deaf ear to the album before a barrage of captivating and addictive lyricism washes over. He is unafraid to depict himself clearly as the ‘Alpha’ in the situation – releasing alongside the album, the Daniel Czernilofsky-directed video for ‘The Gunner’ encapsulates the stimulation bloom radiates perfectly, only by utter visual eye candy as opposed to the record’s musically-driven euphoria.

Its most notable moments of experimentation – ‘27,’ ‘Rehab,’ ‘Let You Go,’ and the James Arthur-featuring ‘Go For Broke’ – incorporate personal, touching information. Reflecting upon his personal fame and eventual legacy, the unique change in instrumentation and musical techniques deployed accentuates the stark input – something we’ve only seen glimpses of prior to bloom – to differ well from the status quo of his discography. The incorporation of classic rock motifs as well as acoustic melodies and the soft, frequent intrusion of a piano crafts a unique and alluring experience that is understandably difficult to grasp and make appealing to a pre-existing fanbase when you’ve created such a defining sound for yourself as Kelly has.

Of course, accompanying the album is Camila Cabello collaboration ‘Bad Things,’ which received huge commercial success and a pathway into the mainstream as seen in its rendition on Jimmy Fallon’s show. Similarly, the absolutely fantastic ‘Wake + Bake’ brings together not only Kelly’s signature rap sound with fast-hitting rhymes at quickfire pace, but also a purposefully relaxed and comedic narration accompanied by a slow electric guitar, creating a perfect environment for relaxation and full-stop chill.

If an album with a variation of so many sounds, ideas, and – most importantly – catchy melodies and lyricism, is what you’re craving to wake and bake into the beginning of summer with, then lace up and indulge yourself with bloom – this Cleveland-commissioned rock rapper’s career is truly budding with this release.

bloom is out now via Bad Boy and Interscope

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Anime, historical fiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers shaped me into what I am today... and the PlayStation 2.

2 Comments

  1. GHarrison and the boys on

    A jumble of poorly written clichés that offer no insight into the album. “Bloom” is bad, but this review of it worse.

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