Review: Machine Gun Kelly – bloom

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