Max Bloom
Pedestrian
Release Date: Jun 18, 2021
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: N/A
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Album Review: Pedestrian by Max Bloom
Fairly Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 3.5
It's been just four months since Yuck officially announced a split, but the band's frontman Max Bloom has already been busy, knocking out his second solo album in little over a year, debut Perfume arriving during the first stages of lockdown. And it's lockdown that we have to thank for Pedestrian, Bloom's inspiration being taken from the empty spaces and desolate feelings created by a lack of people where they would normally be teeming. Bloom also discovered the joys of running - or benefits, maybe, as does anyone really enjoy running or is it for fitness purposes only? - and on one of these runs he saw the sign 'Pedestrian' which formed a catalyst for some serious song thinking and planning as well as a song and album title.
Based on rating 6/10
Inspired by Bloom's walks through London during the pandemic, Pedestrian is a collection of lovely, albeit forgettable songs delivered by consistently calm vocals, and simple guitar and piano chords. It opens with a wistful title-track addressing the uncanny feeling of social disconnection. A specific flavour of loneliness inhabits megalopolises, where being surrounded by millions somehow only exacerbates one's sense of isolation.
Opinion: Very Good
Max Bloom delivers an elegant and charming sophomore record with 'Pedestrian', the follow-up to his 2020 full-length effort 'Perfume'. Fragile, all-encompassing environments provide a simultaneously mellow and euphoric listening experience. It is all too easy to become lost in the delicate and reflective soundscapes crafted on this LP, yet the soothing vocals kept at the forefront provide a pleasant degree of easy-fitting grounding to the rich, soft timbre achieved here.