Named on the BBC’s Sound Of new music list for 2016, and touring with Cabbage and Rory Wynne on the VO5 NME Awards tour the following year, the industry clearly had high hopes for Blossoms. I can’t say I really did when I saw them on the aforementioned tour, and was more interested in Cabbage. Blossoms, it turned out were ok, but not interesting enough to compel me to go and listen to their album, and the same was true of the other acts on the bill. But it is remarkable that they’re still here now in 2024, delivering album number five.
There may be a fair few renowned Garys, but you could never say it was a cool or inspiring name. It sits in the same bracket of names that had a peak in the 70s and 80s and have since fallen from favour because they’re simply ‘meh’: I’m thinking Gavin, Nigel, Kevin.
‘The heart of this record is about the five of us recording live in a room together for the first time in years. We wanted to capture the energy of what it’s like when five friends decide to start a band and make music together,’ says Tom Ogden.
While the pandemic obviously disrupted a lot of band activity, I often struggle to assimilate how ‘career’ bands get to a point where they simply don’t spend any time in proximity, actually working together and, y’know, being a band. Anyway.
A major topic of discussion recently is how there aren’t any bands anymore, and some have pinned hope on the Oasis reunion as a potential catalyst for a renaissance for bands. It’s not quite accurate, as there are loads of bands, and excellent bands, active now, they’re simply nowhere near the charts or the majority of radio stations, and bands of the stature of Oasis and Coldplay eclipse nearly every other band instead of providing a gateway. Possibly because the less popular bands aren’t wanting to make sonic wallpaper.
|
So what of Blossoms, and what of ‘Gary’? It contains ten competent indie rock tunes with a decidedly 80s influence. There are some fairly deft melodies and some fairly lethargic lyrics. Opener ‘Big Star’ sounds like an Interpol demo for a song that got canned, but the flaccid funk of ‘What Can I Say After I’m Sorry?’ is more the measure. ‘I Like Your Look’ is particularly naff: with 80s synth strikes and a busy, funky bass, it takes it cues from Blondie’s ‘Rapture’. There are moments when it almost comes together… But then ‘Nightclub’ drops a real ‘what the fuck?’ kind of stink. ‘Cinnamon’ brings some jangle and a shuffling beat, and in the main, a few obvious duds aside, ‘Gary’ is… inoffensive.
It's clear they’re going for narratives and vignettes delivered with a slick 80s disco / pop feel, and in terms of the production, they achieve this, but with mentions of characters like Frank and Marvin, it just feels a shade off, and sadly lacking in irony.
Ultimately, ‘Gary’ sounds like you’d expect an album called ‘Gary’ to sound.
|
