Since releasing his debut full-length album, Happysad, on Stones Throw last year, Los Angeles pianist/producer Kiefer has toured the US and Europe, and then followed the album up with an EP this past spring, Bloom. Now he comes back with a companion EP to Bloom called Superbloom.

The idea behind Superbloom is that this is a continuation or expansion of what Kiefer was doing on Bloom. That means he’s continuing to explore analogue synthesizers and trying to brighten up and expand his sound. It’s not a drastic shift by any means, but sometimes subtle shifts will pay off in big ways down the road. In the meantime, what we have is a collection of instrumental tracks that are quite beautiful in their composition, with a really bright and laid back feel to the whole EP. As the EP begins, the tracks are more about the beats, the soundscape, and the overall song structure. These tracks are certainly enjoyable, and I certainly understand that Kiefer doesn’t want to be pigeonholed in any way, but when you get to the last two tracks of the EP and he really starts to let loose on the piano, you’re in for a treat. Kiefer studied jazz at UCLA under Kenny Burrell, and just a short listen to “Be Encouraged” and “And Encourage Others,” and you can really get a sense of his chops on the piano. It’s all tasteful and done within the overall structure of the songs, and he has a great finesse as he develops the melodies and solos. However, this still leaves room for him to get cooking, even just a little, and you can really get a sense of the creativity and dexterity he has as a pianist.

It’s all part of a growing process as an artist as Kiefer sets out to explore his own sound and figure out just how to bring in the different sides of himself to his music. Superbloom isn’t an EP that is going to blow you away at first listen, but I have the feeling that we are going to look back on this as an important building block in the near future when Kiefer really elevates his game.