Dead Heart Bloom began in 2005 after the breakup of Washington, DC band Phaser as a one-man-band: Boris Skalsky, Phaser's bassist, singer, and keyboardist, wrote and recorded the Dead Heart Bloom self-titled debut, releasing it in 2006. The debut was followed with a second album, Chelsea Diaries, released in 2007 - an acoustic follow-up to the debut.

In 2007, Boris began writing and recording with guitarist Paul Wood, also formerly of Phaser. The two wrote throughout that year and in the summer of 2008 began releasing what would become a 3 EP series, each EP embracing differing musical styles. The first, Fall In, was described by Rollingstone as “a sublime combination of dour, druggy vocals and corkscrewing guitars”. The second, Oh Mercy, was called “an unusual blend of intentionally unsettling bluesy yet aggressive rock" by CMJ. Now Dead Heart Bloom returns with In Chains, continuing the stylistic experimentation of the series but exploring a softer dimension, ending the series on a sigh of resignation.

What began as a cast-of-one, with revolving musicians, now includes Paul Wood, bassist Nathan Goheen, and drummer John Hadfield. A number of guest musicians perform on Dead Heart Bloom recordings and join the band for the live show.

Dead Heart Bloom music is self-released through their own KEI Records.