In May 2025, former Julian Casablancas and Jenny Lewis collaborator Mike Bloom started releasing a backlog of his own material.

By Graeme Smith

We got acquainted with the Los Angeles, USA-based artist on this blog thanks to his single Natural Disaster, a song that we chatted to him about. Now he’s back with its follow up, Mountains.

The track opens with some smouldering indie rock, finding a laidback groove that is somehow also full of drama. When the soft vocals come in, they are instantly gripping, full of soul and emotion. There’s a melancholy to everything, but with an undercurrent of hopefulness. Subtly is definitely the track’s strength as it gradually builds in stature finally arriving at a lingering finale full of timeless textures.

“[Mountains is] a track about the experience of simply being alive, of the struggle to achieve or even of the concept of achieving, and the unconscious rumblings that push and pull at us all,” says Bloom. “Mountains are very real and powerful symbols pointing to some higher power, and sometimes you really do have to approach a microphone with exactly zero shirts on to sing on their behalf.”

It’s yet more evidence of what an exciting prospect Mike Bloom is. A seasoned professional who has worked with some of the greats simply sitting on a pile of work ready to be shared. I await his next release with great anticipation.

For now, we can enjoy Mountains in all its glory. The single is out now and you can give it a listen below.