 After signing to <unk> Records , Nirvana began recording its second album Nevermind in May 1991 . " In Bloom " was one of the first songs the band recorded during the album sessions at Sound City Studios in Van <unk> , California ; Vig thought it would be good to start recording a song previously recorded at Smart Studios . The arrangements for " In Bloom " and the other songs previously recorded with Vig in 1990 were largely unchanged ; the recently hired drummer Dave Grohl stayed mostly with what his predecessor Chad Channing had recorded , but added more power and precision to the recording . Cobain sang progressively " harder " during the recording of the song , which made it difficult for Vig to balance the volume levels between the verses and choruses . Vig recalled that he had to change the input level " on the fly " and hoped that Cobain would not " change the <unk> or do something different " while recording . 
