| Blossoms — Cool Like You (Deluxe; 27 Apr 2018) |
Blossoms — Cool Like You (Deluxe; 27 Apr 2018)
Formed: 2013
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Location: Stockport, Lancashire, England
Album release: 27 Apr 2018
Record Label: Virgin/EMI
Duration: 72:29
Tracks:
01. There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls) 3:43
02. I Can’t Stand It 2:58
03. Cool Like You 3:06
04. Unfaithful 2:59
05. Stranger Still 3:34
06. How Long Will This Last? 3:20
07. Between the Eyes 3:24
08. I Just Imagined You 2:58
09. Giving Up the Ghost 3:22
10. Lying Again 3:43
11. Love Talk 3:49
12. There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls) [Acoustic] 3:41
13. I Can’t Stand It (Acoustic) 3:22
14. Cool Like You (Acoustic) 3:08
15. Unfaithful (Acoustic) 3:02
16. Stranger Still (Acoustic) 3:26
17. How Long Will This Last? (Acoustic) 3:27
18. Between the Eyes (Acoustic) 3:22
19. I Just Imagined You (Acoustic) 3:04
20. Giving Up the Ghost (Acoustic) 3:26
21. Lying Again (Acoustic) 3:15
22. Love Talk (Acoustic) 3:14
Blossoms: Cool Like You review — drivetime indie punches below its weight
Review
Michael Hann, Fri 27 Apr 2018 10.00 BST / Score: ***
•★•√ There’s local pride, and then there’s going over the top. Blossoms’ initial success was greeted by their home town with the addition of “Home of Blossoms” placards to existing Stockport road signage, and by the railway station running updates on the release of their debut album on its departure boards. Their debut topped the UK charts and won a Mercury nomination, so clearly one didn’t have to be from Stockport to feel their drivetime~in~indie~clothes was worth persevering with.
•★•√ If the second album is meant to be the difficult one, then Blossoms appear not to have noticed. There is no attempt at radical change here. In fact, there’s barely any attempt at change. The FM radio sheen is still there, the rhythms are four~to~the~floor, and it doubtless sounds great in a tailback on the M62.
•★•√ There’s been a certain amount of blurb about frontman Tom Ogden’s “emotional honesty” and “lyrical progression”, but you’d be hard pressed to hail Cool Like You as a triumph of lyricism. In Unfaithful, he cribs TS Eliot’s “April is the cruellest month” line, but it suggests nothing more than an ear for a good line to nick: this isn’t The Waste Land rewritten, though the song’s musical borrowings from Blondie’s Call Me are evidence of good taste in their cherrypicking from the 80s.
•★•√ Blossoms are best when pace and directness keep the mind focused on their melodies and vigour: once they try their hands at ballads, blandness creeps in. And their strength with melodies makes you wish they would extend themselves more, because Cool Like You is a ready meal of an album: satisfying in the moment, but forgotten the minute it finishes. •★•√ https://www.theguardian.com/
About:
√•★• British quintet Blossoms formed in Stockport, a town just outside of Manchester, England, in 2013. Started by school chums Tom Ogden (vocals, guitar) and Joe Donovan (drums), the band later incorporated Charlie Salt (bass, vocals), Josh Dewhurst (guitar), and Myles Kellock (keyboards, vocals). Their sound was pigeonholed as psych~pop, which the band didn’t like; rather, they hit a sweet spot between the Doors and Arctic Monkeys, combining a knack for classic pop songwriting and moody organ atmospherics with a youthful energy. Ogden’s delivery occupied the space between Richard Ashcroft (the Verve) and Alex Turner, of the aforementioned Monkeys, as the band slithered from spooky, groovy warmth to peppy Brit~pop. Debut single “You Pulled a Gun on Me” was a fine example of this combination, and the band continued to develop on subsequent singles “Blow” and “Cut Me and I’ll Bleed.” 2015 saw the release of two EPs — Blown Rose and Charlemagne. As the band gained exposure, they released another EP, At Most a Kiss, in February 2016. The four~song set featured some new elements, including synths and a more driving urgency. A month later, Blossoms revealed plans for their debut full~length. The self~titled album was released in summer 2016, preceded by single “Getaway.” Months later, they bolstered the effort with an extended edition that included ten additional songs. ~ Neil Z. Yeung
√•★•____________√•★•√•★•___________√•★•√•★•__________√•★•
| Blossoms — Cool Like You (Deluxe; 27 Apr 2018) |
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Location: Stockport, Lancashire, England
Album release: 27 Apr 2018
Record Label: Virgin/EMI
Duration: 72:29
Tracks:
01. There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls) 3:43
02. I Can’t Stand It 2:58
03. Cool Like You 3:06
04. Unfaithful 2:59
05. Stranger Still 3:34
06. How Long Will This Last? 3:20
07. Between the Eyes 3:24
08. I Just Imagined You 2:58
09. Giving Up the Ghost 3:22
10. Lying Again 3:43
11. Love Talk 3:49
12. There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls) [Acoustic] 3:41
13. I Can’t Stand It (Acoustic) 3:22
14. Cool Like You (Acoustic) 3:08
15. Unfaithful (Acoustic) 3:02
16. Stranger Still (Acoustic) 3:26
17. How Long Will This Last? (Acoustic) 3:27
18. Between the Eyes (Acoustic) 3:22
19. I Just Imagined You (Acoustic) 3:04
20. Giving Up the Ghost (Acoustic) 3:26
21. Lying Again (Acoustic) 3:15
22. Love Talk (Acoustic) 3:14
Blossoms: Cool Like You review — drivetime indie punches below its weight
Review
Michael Hann, Fri 27 Apr 2018 10.00 BST / Score: ***
•★•√ There’s local pride, and then there’s going over the top. Blossoms’ initial success was greeted by their home town with the addition of “Home of Blossoms” placards to existing Stockport road signage, and by the railway station running updates on the release of their debut album on its departure boards. Their debut topped the UK charts and won a Mercury nomination, so clearly one didn’t have to be from Stockport to feel their drivetime~in~indie~clothes was worth persevering with.
•★•√ If the second album is meant to be the difficult one, then Blossoms appear not to have noticed. There is no attempt at radical change here. In fact, there’s barely any attempt at change. The FM radio sheen is still there, the rhythms are four~to~the~floor, and it doubtless sounds great in a tailback on the M62.
•★•√ There’s been a certain amount of blurb about frontman Tom Ogden’s “emotional honesty” and “lyrical progression”, but you’d be hard pressed to hail Cool Like You as a triumph of lyricism. In Unfaithful, he cribs TS Eliot’s “April is the cruellest month” line, but it suggests nothing more than an ear for a good line to nick: this isn’t The Waste Land rewritten, though the song’s musical borrowings from Blondie’s Call Me are evidence of good taste in their cherrypicking from the 80s.
•★•√ Blossoms are best when pace and directness keep the mind focused on their melodies and vigour: once they try their hands at ballads, blandness creeps in. And their strength with melodies makes you wish they would extend themselves more, because Cool Like You is a ready meal of an album: satisfying in the moment, but forgotten the minute it finishes. •★•√ https://www.theguardian.com/
About:
√•★• British quintet Blossoms formed in Stockport, a town just outside of Manchester, England, in 2013. Started by school chums Tom Ogden (vocals, guitar) and Joe Donovan (drums), the band later incorporated Charlie Salt (bass, vocals), Josh Dewhurst (guitar), and Myles Kellock (keyboards, vocals). Their sound was pigeonholed as psych~pop, which the band didn’t like; rather, they hit a sweet spot between the Doors and Arctic Monkeys, combining a knack for classic pop songwriting and moody organ atmospherics with a youthful energy. Ogden’s delivery occupied the space between Richard Ashcroft (the Verve) and Alex Turner, of the aforementioned Monkeys, as the band slithered from spooky, groovy warmth to peppy Brit~pop. Debut single “You Pulled a Gun on Me” was a fine example of this combination, and the band continued to develop on subsequent singles “Blow” and “Cut Me and I’ll Bleed.” 2015 saw the release of two EPs — Blown Rose and Charlemagne. As the band gained exposure, they released another EP, At Most a Kiss, in February 2016. The four~song set featured some new elements, including synths and a more driving urgency. A month later, Blossoms revealed plans for their debut full~length. The self~titled album was released in summer 2016, preceded by single “Getaway.” Months later, they bolstered the effort with an extended edition that included ten additional songs. ~ Neil Z. Yeung
√•★•____________√•★•√•★•___________√•★•√•★•__________√•★•