Bloomfield Machine Turns Grief and Static Into Something Beautiful on 'Algorithm & Blues'

Brian Kassan, the one-man operation behind Bloomfield Machine, is a solid artist based out of Huntington Beach, California. Kassan has been stacking up a discography that now stretches to nine full-length releases, and Algorithm & Blues is his brand-new addition.

The Bloomfield Machine project is entirely his. Writing, performing, producing, mixing - all of it! His influences are an unusual mix of classical, rock and electronic genres. He describes his process as working within vast libraries of sounds and beats, eschewing planning in favour of spontaneous discovery. This here is an artist who trusts his instincts, and those instincts are pretty good, in my opinion.

What makes 'Algorithm & Blues' feel different from his earlier work is the sound of it. This one is more rock-oriented and more well-rounded than anything he's put out before. Fifteen tracks spanning over thirty minutes are tight and considered pieces. Kassan himself is upfront about this: it takes a couple of listens to get in.

It's worth knowing a little of the context here. Kassan has spoken openly about a period of loss and instability in the months leading up to this record. That touch evident in the music. The album keeps circling back to the question of what you hold onto when things shift beneath you. Music, for him, has been the constant. The one thing that keeps returning a sense of purpose.

'Algorithm' and Blues, for me, became a feeling. Where the digital and the human keep bumping into each other in interesting ways. The album consists of atmospheric density that I found disorienting in the best way.

Another personal highlight for me is the way the mid-section of the album handles the interplay between what I'd call the "cold" elements. Like the glitch and industrial textures, the synth lines and the warmer, more dreamy passages that lay underneath. Tracks like 'Hiccup Culture' and 'Meander' feel euphoric and nostalgic at the same time.

The closing stretch of the album is where I think Kassan earns everything he's set up. The final tracks feel like a genuine resolution. The kind that acknowledges what's been lost and chooses to keep going anyway. There's something in the synth work here specifically that I keep coming back to. It sits right at the edge of what I'd call pretty. It stays earnest.

One very important note on how to listen to this: Kassan recommends headphones, maybe even with your favourite drink in hand. I'd second all of that, especially the headphones. A lot of what makes these tracks work lives in the detail. Through speakers in a room, you'll get the shape of it. Through headphones, you'll actually be inside it.

'Algorithm & Blues' is just Kassan doing what he does. Expressing what he can't say any other way, revealing something of his subconscious through music, and giving the benefit of the doubt to his listeners to meet him there. After nine albums, that trust feels earned. If you're new to Bloomfield Machine, this is genuinely a great place to start!

Give it a couple of listens. You'll be glad you did so!

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