Usually, the offer of a cup of tea or a “right then” follows an apologetic tone. But Blossoms is keen to figure out what the right of reply is when doing wrong and offering an acceptance of hurt on their latest single What Can I Say (After I’m Sorry). There is an openness to their latest, a sense that there is little to say which can make things right, and pairing themselves with Burnley legend and current Everton manager Sean Dyche is one way to pick through the scraps of life. They took their time in finding a sound and style which worked for them, but glimpses of life appeared on Foolish Loving Spaces. They expand on this, growing comfortable with the synth tones and sickly-sweet pop-rock interjections found on the groove-laden What Can I Say (After I’m Sorry).
Loose and catchy synth variations are all Blossoms can offer and for this single, it is more than enough. Short and fun, a nice and refined slice of the band at their most consistent. Inevitable tonal changes strike in the mid-section and return Blossoms to those scrapings of indie-rock which Harry Styles and The 1975 are hellbent on adapting to a wider audience. But if you keep it intact as Blossoms do the overall effect is far less mangled. Blossoms are good at what they do. They are rarely the favourite but what they provide is a comfortable consistency which keeps them in favour as they cover The Smiths with Rick Astley. Beyond their desire to charm audiences with a 1980s pop singer, Blossoms are now keen to expand their horizons and deal out charming, 80s-like appearances of their own. What Can I Say (After I’m Sorry) is stuffed full of a timely influence.
With The Lemon Twigs and their like rearing their heads and making the sound of the summer a homage to the 1970s it should only feel right that Blossoms has advanced to the next decade and made for a synth playground. Nothing wrong with that, it works well. There is little depth to it, but the best of the genre had little going on under the surface. The Lemon Twigs too find themselves with a lacking emotive appeal but an intense understanding of the recording process which gets them to their desired, nostalgia-bait sound. Blossoms has a little more to learn with that but What Can I Say (After I’m Sorry) certainly adds a neat layer to their craft. A track which remains impossible to hate but difficult to remember.
Fear happiness and positivity. It can only end poorly when we find someone who shines with their unique qualities and enables the high points of our lives. Blossoms remain in fear and with a punchy instrumental focus there is much to enjoy with their light and breezy ones. What a wonderful compilation of noise this becomes, a light hit ripe for summer playlists. Make no mistake the tone taken by its tempo means Blossoms has an earworm on their hands, and for better or worse, Radio X will play it until their file corrupts. Still, there are worse choices for it and What Can I Say (After I’m Sorry) hears Blossoms blur artistic interest with the qualities expected of a popular indie rock band.
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