Blossoms – Gary Review

Having taken their slice of the indie scene by storm, expectations for Gary, the latest album from Blossoms, are high. Inspired by the now cult story of a gorilla stolen from a garden centre, the title track for their fifth studio work has a playfulness to it heard elsewhere in their discography. A light and bright bunch of synth-like joys. Short, decent and sweet. This is the bar set by the big names of indie rock sound. There is an overall neatness to their sound, something groovy yet nostalgic. A perfect blur for those unconvinced by the new steps of the genre which feel more like working-class masquerades in one corner, and genuinely pitiful love songs in the other. Blossoms has evaded both, bringing out a contemporary sound worth settling in for.  

Gary is a neat album to wind down the year with. Your first listen-through accompanied by some out-of-date chicken kievs and the slim worry of food poisoning winding its way through your system. Wash it down with a coffee and gaslight yourself. That stomach ache is from caffeine, not salmonella. Such is the life of a go-getting man in the music industry. Blossoms have surely experienced this. Their sound is still down to earth, connected to the everyday incidents which separate us from them. But Blossoms are still in the former camp and come through as genuine despite the success, and Gary has heaps of evidence to their welcoming, warm approach. Opener Big Star has all the anxieties of wrong outfits and hoping for a relationship with those who can get you somewhere. A finite retro appeal can be heard within its pool shoots and provisional promises of a break somewhere down the line. Neat guitar work swings it into action, and the band goes into their Sean Dyche-featuring single, What Can I Say After I’m Sorry?. 

A plain way to get yourself involved with the band and though Dyche does not, sadly, feature on vocals, it is a connection to the roots of Blossoms and the people who make their sound what it is. They still sound ambitious and spritely; their everyday experiences and the out-there mysteries of title track Gary are a decent encapsulation of Blossoms at this stage. A tad shallow in spots but their jollier sound, and the lighter flourishes of their guitar work, mark an ambitious instrumental flow. I Like Your Look has the retro sound and backing vocals many up-and-comers are handling but with the likes of Yard Act detailing those spirited instrumentals, there is heart and apologetic tones. It is the need to get a point of nostalgia across as a diminishing return rather than something to celebrate, as Blossoms do from time to time. Gary is a very solid piece of work but lacks the emotional flourishes which set these tones elsewhere apart from the rest.  

Nightclub has a too literal sense to it. Connected to the non-descript club and characters found within, Blossoms find themselves criticising the company they keep without having the heart or courage to name them. Gary can be best summarised by Nightclub. It is a song, and album, about fitting in with what feels contemporary yet close to the heart. Blossoms has little, if any, connection to this past, or at least has no specifics worth mentioning. There is no denying their grounded approach but their moments of inspiration lack the detail which separates bands from one another. Competition is growing for the soft spot Blossoms find themselves in, and a release like Gary, where the fill-in-your-blanks style can be found, does not hit quite right. No dangerous avenues travelled, just a generally nice-sounding album.