The Stockport indie five piece Blossoms are back with their fourth record ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’, and it is their most mature to date.
Amid the chaos of the album launch, I accidentally interrupted frontman Tom Ogden and drummer Joe Donovan from making the all-important set-list selection for their upcoming intimate shows.
As I sat waiting eagerly at my laptop for Tom to finish up, Joe noticed the effort I put into my zoom backdrop, “I like your fairy lights”, which I had deliberately turned on behind me.
It was strange to see the kings of the north in anything other than their typical 70s inspired get-up, but it’s not all flares and silk shirts when preparing for the release of new music. Nevertheless, their long hair and giddiness to drop the record was still present.
The best-friends, who are now brothers-in-law, spent the conversation finishing off each other’s sentences, that’s if they didn’t end with ‘Do you know what I mean?’, suggesting they are still Stockport school boys at heart.
Despite being the same cheeky lads, ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’ clarifies that Blossoms are masters of the indie scene, and Ogden admitted he is itching to share what the band have been working on.
“When you’re four albums in you care less about what people think. When you’re younger on your first album, you’re nervous about what the reviews might say and how people will react to it. But we’ve evolved into the band we want to be. We’re just more excited to play.”
Evolution certainly sums up the new direction of the band. They no longer rely on the synth sounds that broke them into the festival circuit and drove their second LP ‘Cool Like You’. In fact, they continued to experiment with new sounds off the back of their gospel dominated record ‘Foolish Loving Spaces’, while also returning to the idea of guitars (and may I say extra-long hair) from their self-titled debut.
Astonishing violin refrains and dreamy acoustic guitars populate this album, alongside Tom’s outstanding vocal range and ability to create such catchy hooks that give the tracks a timeless feel.
“We’ve got real strings which you can hear in ‘Ode To NYC’ and ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’ and that has given the album a bit of a cinematic feel and a lushness to it. I think that is how people have been describing it in some of the reviews, so I think that just gives it a warmth”, clearly signifying that Ogden still does in fact read some reviews.
Not only do the strings give it a sense of cinema, but also the record is bookended with short yet extravagant instrumental numbers ‘The Writer’s Theme’ and ‘The Last Chapter’, which help to give the album a narrative.
Donovan agrees, “It’s definitely got a cinematic vibe. I think the album should be seen as a whole. Our last albums have been, sort of, traditional albums whereas this one has got more of a theme throughout it. The whole album could soundtrack a film.”
The album’s central focus is the character of ‘The Writer’, which amplifies the pictorial sense of the record and is in some ways based on Ogden, not that he realised this at the time of writing.
Lyrically, this is his most vulnerable work yet and explores the ideas of male mental health, writer’s block, and imposter syndrome. Tom observed, “It’s more reflecting on my own life really, less so than from watching other films. But there’s stuff like ‘Normal People’ and ‘Stand by Me’, coming of age. I tried to not write about love songs because I’ve done it a lot in the past. I tried to force myself to find new things to write about and dig a little deeper. It was more from me personally to be honest.”
However, themes of love did still creep into this album in the wedding disco sounding numbers ‘Care For’ and ‘Everything About You’. But that is only natural when he recently married his wife, Katie.
You do not have to look any further than the album cover to see that Blossoms have matured. But this is mirrored in their personal lives anyway with more weddings on the cards as Joe recently became engaged and home renovation being at the forefront of conversation on their podcast (or pubcast as they like to call it).
“I’m getting a few wrinkles”, Donovan joked when questioning why the group decided not to be part of the artwork for the first time.
Tom enlightened me, “The way the record sounded it kind of felt like we should do something different on it and make it really simple but classic. We got an artist involved, Edwin Burdis who then came up with the concept of having the wood engravings and then we found Hillary Paynter who did the engravings. We wanted someone to put their flare on it which is what Edwin did and it turned out great.”
Even the band’s tastebuds have arguably developed as they relayed an amusing anecdote after I asked what to expect on the Blossoms rider (aside from Stella, of course). Tom recalled, “We got into making salad on the last tour. Trying to be a bit healthier so we’d have-”
“The Blossoms salad!”, interrupted Joe (you see what I mean now about the finishing each other’s sentences?).
If you want to make your own ‘Blossoms salad’, luckily, they both passionately told me what you need, “Red onion, finely chopped, spring onions, fresh tomatoes, red peppers, ice burg lettuce, chopped, fresh lime and lemon maybe, salt and pepper, then we’d put some BBQ chicken ready made from a pack for a bit of taste.”
Surprisingly though, the group’s oldest member (sorry Chaz), bass player, Charlie Salt exclaimed out of vision “I can’t stand it”, so…it’s clearly not a winner for all.
There is yet to be tour announced for ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’ however, the band kickstarted their new era with some intimate shows at the newly refurbished Band On The Wall in Manchester.
Donovan expressed his excitement “We’ve never played band on the wall. I love them gigs, I mean I say it at the moment, when I’m there I always like proper shit myself. It feels weird, the smaller gigs you go back to they’re sort of a bit more…ahhh. But who doesn’t love playing like little sweaty box room?”.
He also added, “You get nervous when you’re doing new tunes that you haven’t played before. When you’ve done a few gigs that’s when the nerves kind of stop and settle. For example, ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’ for me is easy. I can do that after about 10 Stellas, do you know what I mean?”.
As an avid player of ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’, I know exactly what you mean Joe.
The band returning to a 500-capacity venue offers a sense of nostalgia for long-term fans and fits perfectly with the album’s theme of the group looking back on their career.
Maarit and Harriet have been Blossoms enthusiasts since 2014 and run the social media page ‘At Most One Tour’, which makes reference to the hit ‘At Most A Kiss’ from the band’s debut.
They became friends in early 2016 after seeing each other in queues at The Libertines gigs and wanted to follow an upcoming band’s journey from the start.
“Blossoms were just getting big, and they were one of the second conversations we ever had. We both realised we were obsessed and it kind of spiralled because the two of us just fuel each other. We were like we have to follow this and see where the band is going”, Harriet recalled.
The album is rewarding for listener’s who have blossomed (excuse the pun) alongside them as they can also reflect on their journey.
Harriet said, “When we first got into them, they were just like another indie band, great songs, fun gigs, that was it. But now, they sound like a classic band with their own sound. You can really tell on this album it’s a real step up for them which is good because now they’re going to have so much more longevity.”
Up to now, the pair have seen Blossoms 139 times and out of the love of live music, are not planning on stopping anytime soon. Maarit assured me, “It’s not like we’re trying to get to a certain number. Sometimes people say, ‘oh you guys are so dedicated’, but it’s just about fun. The moment we stop having fun we will stop going.”
The lads also treated their fans by keeping up with their tradition of playing the entire album in their hometown Stockport at The Plaza. Ogden was excited, “We’re doing the album in full at The Plaza with real strings so it will be like a real event it will feel like.”
Although the budget doesn’t stretch far enough to have real strings at every live set, the band will have real strings at other big gigs such as at Glastonbury. But unlike at The Plaza, hopefully they will not be interrupted by a false fire alarm at Glasto.
Speaking of Glastonbury, Joe reflected on one of his fondest memories when we talked everything live music.
“I went to watch Father John Misty on my own at Glastonbury and it was fucking class. I was on a wavelength of something and I was just dead happy. I was stood on this little mound at the back, so I had a dead boss view, and I was just drinking Stella with my little backpack on, and my little sunhat and I was absolutely loving life. I had nobody saying ‘I need a wee’ or ‘oh wait for this, hold this’. I was just on my own with my own thoughts smiling away. Loved it.
“I did the same with chemical brothers. But then Myles joined me, and we were stood right next to the speakers, and we were just staring ‘cos the show is amazing itself. Anything at Glastonbury is probably my favourite gig.
It is clear when listening to the bridge of ‘Ode to NYC’ that Blossoms are inspired by the works of Harry Nilsson on this album or similarly the Johnny Marr sounding riffs in ‘Born Wild’, but I was curious to know who the band would have play at their own dream festival. “ABBA is going to have to be on there. Oasis, The Beatles”, Tom rapidly fired back to me.
Joe followed up with, “I mean you have to say The Beatles. I was listening to The Beatles the other day and I was just like they are just the best band to have ever lived, aren’t they?”.
“Bob Marley and The Wailers — he’s opening”, added Ogden.
Donovan replied, “Boss support, don’t think he’d be happy with opening.”
However, even at these big shows like The Plaza and Glastonbury, the novelty of being in a band, gearing up in the dressing room has worn off.
“It’s boring now. It’s usually us flapping about getting ready”, recounted Joe.
Tom agreed, “Yeah, what are we gonna wear, where’s the steamer.”
“A lot of semi naked boys, a lot of body hair knocking about”, joked Donovan.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be insulting to say that rather than partying hard in the dressing room, Blossoms would love a good hearty meal.
Joe recited, “Italians our favourite food collectively. How good is pasta? How good is garlic bread? Garlic bread should be one of your five a day!”
“I love cooking. I like doing a Tomahawk stake, a big hunk of meat I like that. And I can do good lasagne”, Ogden confessed.
Although they could be classed as a foodie collective, maybe Joe is not so much, “I reckon I’ve got the taste buds of a 2-year-old. I go for a dead boss meal and I’m like I can appreciate its nice and stuff but, I dunno, I love maccies as well. I’ve got like very simple taste buds. I’m a well cheap date, me. If I went home and Sophia [fiancé] was like I’ve got you Greggs for tea, I’d be like ‘I love you’. It doesn’t matter to me, I’m happy with that.”
Very humble, for sure.
That being said, music is still the band’s first love. I asked what new music they have been listening to recently.
Tom answered “KAWALA. I’ve been hanging out with them guys. They’re from down south. I like Wet Leg, their new album is good. Rex Orange County, I quite like him, but he’s not really new is he.”
Myles Kellock, who plays keys in the band, chipped in out of shot, “Dylan Thomas, he’s boss.”
Ogden also came back with, “Monks are good. Dream Machine and Jamie Webster.” I knew that Tom was a frontman who was constantly writing, the curiosity got the better of me and I asked what was in the pipeline next for Blossoms.
Tom divulged, “Some songs are written [for album 5]. I’m always writing. We haven’t done any demos or anything yet so it’s very early stages but I’m always writing so we’re kind of just figuring out what we want the sound to be for the next one. But you’ve got to enjoy releasing this album first and just actually live in it a little bit so there’s no pressure on the next album. But there’s definitely…”
“Seeds being sewn”, said collectively by bezzie mates Tom and Joe, which, if anything, shows they perhaps spend too much time together.
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