Moses Sumney has released a new version of his song “In Bloom.” The delicate, stripped-down track, titled “In Bloom (In the Woods),” is from the musician’s upcoming album and film Live From Blacklachia.
The film, due out Dec. 10, captures a one-take performance Sumney did in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. Sumney directed the film, which features performances of 14 songs, himself.
The original version of “In Bloom” comes off Sumney’s 2020 album Græ. Græ marked Sumney’s second studio album and was released in two parts last year, the first in February and the second in May. It followed his debut LP Aromanticism and the subsequent EP Black in Deep Red, 2014.
Sumney told Rolling Stone he always seeks to create music outside genre limitation. “To some people, I will always be an R&B artist, and that is the nature of my work,” he said. “It is the nature of me being a black singer who sings the way I do, regardless of what I dress it up in.”
“I love to laugh, and I’m always laughing,” he said of the album’s sometimes humorous tone. “I view sadness and joy as intrinsically linked. Melancholy is such a bittersweet emotion, but the sweetness is there. I wanted to make that clearer. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not dark and brooding all the time.”
London four piece Keo are on course to land their first UK Number 1 album with Put A Smile On For Me. After building a loyal audience over the past two years, the London band now lead this week’s Official Albums Chart update. Their debut record explores love, guilt, and self destruction.
Nothing But Thieves are close behind at Number 2 with their fifth album, Stray Dogs. The Southend band are hoping for a second straight Number 1 after Dead Club City reached the top in 2023. Taylor Swift is at Number 3 with The Life Of A Showgirl, helped by the expanded The Encore edition. Olivia Rodrigo’s You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In sits at Number 4, while Soft Cell’s Danceteria opens at Number 5. It is the synth pop duo’s final album together following Dave Ball’s death last year.
Europe could reach Number 9 with Come This Madness, giving the Swedish rock band its first UK Top 10 album in four decades. A 30th anniversary reissue of Alice In Chains’ MTV Unplugged is at Number 13 in the midweek update, with Orbital’s Glastonbury 1994 set at Number 14. Julia Jacklin is heading for her first Top 40 album as The Gem reaches Number 18, while Suede’s Coming Up returns at Number 23 after its 30th anniversary physical release.
Also on track for Top 40 places are Nessa Barrett’s Tough Love at Number 29, the companion soundtrack to LINKIN PARK: UNSHATTER at Number 30, and Dublin band Gurriers’ Nobody’s Coming To Save You at Number 31. Blondshell, Kneecap, Tina Turner, and Leon Bridges also appear in the lower half of the midweek chart.
The official positions will be announced when the final Albums Chart is published on Friday.