By Mary Chang on Wednesday, 7th March 2018 at 9:00 am
Stockport’s Blossoms have announced their second album will be out in April. ‘Cool Like You’, the follow-up to their enjoyable debut ‘Blossoms’ from summer 2016, will be released on Virgin EMI on the 27th of April. Shortly following the release of their new long player, the psych pop group will tour England on a short string of dates. The tour kicks off at home at Stockport Plaza on the 4th of May and concludes in Norwich on the 12th of May. Something tells me there will be more dates announced soon, perhaps in the autumn following music festivals? Just a thought. For more on Blossoms here on TGTF, use this link.
Friday 4th May 2018 – Stockport Plaza
Monday 7th May 2018 – Leeds Academy
Tuesday 8th May 2018 – Newcastle Academy
Thursday 10th May 2018 – London Kentish Town Forum
Friday 11th May 2018 – Manchester Apollo
Saturday 12th May 2018 – Norwich Nick Rayns LCR at the UEA
Songbyrd Music House and Record Café is a relative newcomer on the music scene in Washington, having opened in summer 2015 and only recently come on my radar following an invitation to see Sundara Karma there post-SXSW 2017. Located in the heart of Adams Morgan on 18th Street Northwest, the question will be how big of a draw the place will become compared to its more famous brethren in the U Street corridor. It’s important to note that at its 150-person capacity, it’s a worthy alternative to DC9 to see up-and-coming artists in a very intimate setting. For regular attendees of The Great Escape, imagine being in Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar in Brighton: the claustrophobia from the low ceiling, the poles obstructing your sightline, but without the infamous sticky floors. The crowd Saturday night was in remarkably good spirits, which was a good thing considering there was a hour delay in opening doors and it felt like we’d been waiting forever outside in a queue while passersby gawked at us.
Los Angeles-based alt-folk rockers Wilderado opened the evening at Songbyrd. I was cynical of their mustaches, predicting they’d sound like a a Kings of Leon, Southern rock-directed retread. To my surprise, they sounded less like the Followills and more like hugely popular folkies The Lumineers. There’s a laid-back vibe that will appeal to those enamoured with the current burgeoning lo-fi scene. Their rich Eagles / Beach Boys-esque harmonies, exemplified from tracks like ‘The Ocean and the Sea’ and ‘Morning Light’, is a further feather in their cap. Following the success of The Lumineers and American Idol winner Phillip Phillips, the alt-folk scene is pretty crowded here in America, but how quickly Wilderado won over an audience waiting for an English pop band suggests huge potential.
But make no mistake, the devoted fans who queued for a long time outside the venue were there for Blossoms. The Stockport, Greater Manchester group had organised a series of dates on the West Coast earlier in the spring around their Coachella appearances, leaving us out in the cold. Thankfully, management had the wisdom to do the same around their Governor’s Ball and Bonnaroo sets, too, so us East Coasters would get some face time with them. I’d covered them live for TGTF 2 years ago, when they made their first trip out to Austin for SXSW 2015, followed by appearing at Dr. Martens’ stage at the Green Door Store at The Great Escape 2 months later. You’ve heard the story: gaining further momentum in the UK, they caught the eyes and ears of Virgin EMI, who signed them and released their self-titled debut last summer.
Their first-ever appearance in DC was sold out, which must have been great validation of their talent. Like what I’d imagine for their audiences in Britain, the turnout was a mix of excited youngsters and older folks, all drawn in by their catchy tunes. Starting things off on a confident pop note were he driving rhythm and glittery synths of ‘At Most a Kiss’, met by punters’ resounding cheers. They quickly followed this with hugely popular singles: the bluesy ‘Blow’ and ‘Cut Me and I’ll Bleed’, then the infectious ‘Getaway’, their 21st century version of ‘One More Night’. Later on the set, ‘Blown Rose’ and its wistful lyrics “the stately homes of England / how beautiful they stand / lately it’s a lonely love I know / blown rose, go” seemed particularly poignant in light of the London terror attacks just hours before.
As the set progressed, Blossoms showed they were equally at home with dynamic pop as when they push the boat out further. A recent example of this is their recent collaboration with electronic drum ‘n’ bass legends Chase and Status on ‘This Moment’, which has brought the band to the attention of an entirely new group of fans. Two songs from ‘Blossoms’ that deviate from their hit-making formula, ‘Smashed Pianos’ and ‘Deep Grass’, were a tough sell on the album. However, they were far more convincing live and suggest that this Northern band are far more than a one-trick pony. That said, the reaction to single ‘Charlemagne’, used as the closer to their set, proved without a doubt that their knack for writing a memorable pop song will put them in good stead for years to come. They’ll no doubt be headlining a far larger venue the next time they come to our town.
Blossoms appear at The Foundry in Philadelphia tonight; to see the rest of the dates on their American tour this month and their other announced appearances in 2017, visit their Facebook page. Read more on Blossoms here on TGTF through here. After the cut, you can see the band’s set list from the show Saturday night.
By Mary Chang on Thursday, 16th February 2017 at 4:00 pm
It’s good to be Stockport, Greater Manchester group Blossoms. The band have been nominated for the British Breakthrough Act at this year’s BRITs, and there’s still time to get your vote in for them (or whichever of the nominees you prefer) through here (UK residents only) before next week’s awards show. As a part of a special week at the Radio 1’s Live Lounge, as the radio station is celebrating the BRITs, they invited Blossoms in yesterday as award nominees in to play a song of their own, plus as is standard for all their Live Lounge performances, a cover.
Choosing to do a cover of 50 Cent’s ‘In Da Club’ mashed up with Wham!’s ‘Careless Whisper’ has been controversial for their fans (if you question this, just read the comments section here from their Facebook), but what is not at all controversial is their performance of ‘Honey Sweet’, featured on their self-titled album released last summer. Watch both performances below; you can listen to the Radio 1 programme for the next 28 days via Radio 1’s Web site. ‘Blossoms’ is out now on Virgin EMI, and my review of the LP is through here. I’ve written a fair bit on the North West band here on TGTF, and you can catch up on all our past coverage on them if you head this way.
By Mary Chang on Sunday, 5th February 2017 at 10:00 am
Stockport, Greater Manchester’s Blossoms already have a busy first half of 2017 all lined up. A few days ago, they announced their first North American tour. It includes cities on the West Coast before appearances at American music festivals Coachella in April plus Governor’s Ball in New York and Firefly in Delaware in June. To celebrate their exciting news stateside, the band have unveiled a brand new self-directed video for ‘Honey Sweet’. It’s a cut from their self-titled debut album that was released last summer on Virgin EMI. (Want to read my review of the LP? You can do so through here.)
To give this promo a throwback feel, the guys take a step back 30 years ago to 1987, the land of rotary phones and denim jackets and when people still actually used a foldout A-Z map to plan their trips instead of Google Maps. What’s even better about this video is that if you’ve never actually visited Stockport, the band cycle through their hometown, past the Stockport County AFC, the town’s market hall and Robinsons’ brewery, aka the home of Elbow‘s beer build a rocket boys! That is, before they make it out to the wilderness and meet up with an icon of the times. You’ll be surprised if you watch it through to the end. Watch it below. To catch up on all of our past coverage on the band, go here.
By Mary Chang on Monday, 31st October 2016 at 5:00 pm
I don’t usually get presents dropped in my lap like this on a weekend (keep it clean, folks), so I’m going to roll with it. in conjunction with VEVO, Stockport, Greater Manchester psych pop band Blossoms played a Halloween-themed gig Saturday at Liverpool’s Bramley-Moore Dock, aka the home for Liverpool Sound City the last 2 years. And for those of us who weren’t lucky enough to be there for the show, they’ve now shared the entire set. Naturally, being the agreeable lads they are, they dressed up for the occasion. And boy, did they! Even the audience got into the theme of the show. Enjoy the entire spectacle below.
Set List:
At Most a Kiss
Getaway
Blown Rose
Honey Sweet
Blow 15:37
Across the Moor
Deep Grass
Charlemagne
By Mary Chang on Monday, 17th October 2016 at 6:00 pm
Stockport band Blossoms are currently in America, playing at the Bardot in Hollywood tonight after a sold out show at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn and another at San Francisco’s Rickshaw Stop. While they’ve been in America, the new promo video for ‘Blown Rose’ has been revealed to the world. It follows a different, shall we say more whimsical video for the song when it was released as a single last year.
In this new video version of ‘Blown Rose’, there’s loads of imagery – lit candles, Catholicism (?) – and I guess naturally for a group of lads, a vampy model-type woman. Is she a femme fatale or a woman scorned? Find out by watching the promo below. Blossoms’ self-titled debut album is out now on Virgin EMI, and you can read my review of it through here. While I was away in Ireland, the band announced a four-pack of shows on the Emerald Isle, stopping in Belfast, Galway, Limerick and Dublin in March 2017, which are on sale now. They’ll be supported by Derry’s Touts, who you can read about in my review of Friday night at Hard Working Class Heroes 2016 tomorrow afternoon. To read more of TGTF’s coverage on the band from Stockport, go here.
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