Kris Gruen

On his sixth studio album In Bloom, alternative Americana artist Kris Gruen counters global gloom with a nostalgic celebration of maturing familial joys. Due on June 2nd, it’s an innately melodic album of love songs, but love in the sense of deep relationships, marriage, and a parent’s devotion to children on the trepidatious edge of adulthood (one of whom sings on the record).

Released by Mother West, In Bloom marries heartfelt Americana to the whisper-folk of Iron & Wine and Sufjan Stevens, all infused with the spirit of turn-of-the-‘80s punk that Kris was born into as the son of legendary NYC rock ‘n’ roll photographer Bob Gruen.

Recording In Bloom often in single takes, captured by the marvelously sparse treatments of longtime producer/collaborator Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields, The Bones of J.R. Jones), helped to retain the material’s unfiltered, bucolic aura – something that Kris takes still further with his one-man-and-a-guitar live shows. The album features sublime instrumental contributions from drummer Butch Norton (Lucinda Williams, Rufus Wainwright, Tracy Chapman), bassist Ed Maxwell (Shelby Lynne, Rickie Lee Jones), and horn player Probyn Gregory (Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney) and guitarist Eli Wulfmeir (Leroy of the North, Nikki Lane).

In Bloom will be supported by extensive touring, including European dates with Chuck Prophet, many of which will be captured for future music videos by Swedish filmmaker Martin Hedman, and stateside shows with Alejandro Escovedo.