The boys are back. Stockport’s finest songbirds, Blossoms, bring album number six to our ears in the form of ‘Songs from the Wedding Cake.’
In their wildest press run yet, which is impressive by their standards, Blossoms have played outside 42’s, in tiny venues; they’re gearing up for an arena tour at long last and, of course, at someone’s wedding—obviously. Accompanied by Maya Jama and Jack O’Connell in the music videos and in musical form, Declan McKenna, Eli Hewson, and their mate Rick—he was never gonna let them down, and he certainly was never gonna desert them.
The lads have spent the summer wowing festival crowds before returning Gary to Mr. Scott in time to usher in this new era. They’ve swapped gorillas for guest books and ‘Mothers’ for brides; the real question is why they didn’t just save ‘The Honeymoon’ for the wedding record.
In their wedding era, I’d label the A side the ceremony and the B side the do afterwards. In the first five songs, four of which were singles, you’ve got the spotlight events, the centrepiece, and the main attractions. And on the B side you’ve got the deep cuts, the late-night chats, the first dance (I’m not sure what part of the wedding this tends to occur, but it is how I want to label ‘Fall into You’), and the part we really came for.
‘Joke About Divorce’ was, however ironically, the correct choice of lead single for the band’s wedding album. Blossoms have been getting gradually groovier as the years go by, and this is perhaps the summit of said groovemaking—I mean, Rick Astley makes everybody want to move their body… right? That bass, though!
The groove rolls on to ‘Husband,’ which is not ironically titled if you weren’t aware; there’s a nod to The Cure, some godly synths, and Cook is cooking in the video. What. Is. Not. To. Love? ‘Meet Me in Love’ and ‘The Kardashians’ continue the theme of danceable love songs chock full of pop culture references—and a trip to Blackpool. Can take the boy out of the North and all that.
The teatime slot, indie singalong as the sun goes down in a field in summer. Avengers unite! Declan McKenna is Blossoms’ best man on ‘Additional Driver.’ A day in the life, a social commentary told straight from the horse’s mouth as Tom drives around Stockport and Manchester, referencing the infamous Pyramid, the Apollo, and the 192 bus before getting in some trouble with the GMP.
My B-side afterparty begins with ‘Fall into You.’ It is impressive enough that after over a decade in the game, Blossoms can still create something as fresh as this album all whilst keeping the signature spark, wit, and charm of a Blossoms record. But it is even more impressive that after all this time, their best song in their entire discography is an album track in the middle of album six. ‘Fall into You’ is a wonderfully expressed love song that effortlessly sums up everything that this album sets out to say. Poetic and straight from the heart, as straightforward as some of the lyrics on this record are—surrounding Ogden’s own marriage on tracks like ‘The Kardashians’ (“If you were to have my child / safely say it would be a lucky thing to have your smile”) and ‘Husband’ (“Come and get old with me”)—some songs don’t need much to be a perfect summary of love and life, and this one certainly does that.
‘Guts’ strums in with a bit of French and some earworm ‘ooo ooo’s’ that ring around the track. Punchy drums and keys and dreamy BVs make for the perfect backdrop as Tom declares everything he’d do for his lover—who is the reason he’s not fucked. ‘Uma Thurman’ continues the pop culture love song theme as we hear about Kill Bill, Rocky Horror, and of course, weddings. This is the B-side’s banger and perhaps the album’s biggest toe-tapper.
‘Where Have You Been My Whole Life’ is the album at its most raw and introspective, singing about proposing to the love of your life and still managing to fit in a reference to Adam Sandler’s Robbie Hart in ‘The Wedding Singer’—take a bow, Thomas, you can really do it all. Eli Hewson, of Inhaler and Bono’s son fame, has a gorgeous, uncredited feature here singing a lovely bridge before Blossoms play us out.
And then they really do play us out. “The Deep End” is a six-minute-plus epic where Ogden sings, “Loving you, I’m in the deep end, babe / Without you, I’d rather be dead, babe.” A big finale. A final blowout. One last big soppy love song was exactly what this album needed. And of course, one last pop culture reference—this time to Tamia’s 1998 track ‘So Into You’—masterful.
After over a decade in the game, album number six shows once more that the Stockport sons are no one-trick pony. Maybe there’s no big hit singalong à la ‘Charlemagne,’ ‘There’s a Reason Why,’ or even ‘Gary,’ but this album is the perfect mix of what you’d want to hear at a wedding: floor-filling bangers, beautiful love songs, a big crescendo, and Rick Astley. After, in my opinion, selling themselves short for so many years, I am so pleased that this is the era that will fill arenas and headline festivals. ‘Songs From the Wedding Cake’ is a triumphant effort, and it may be the band’s best work yet, and if you’ve heard the previous five records, you’d know that is no mean feat.
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