Album Spotlight: Blossoms - Gary (2024)

Blossoms - ‘Gary’ album cover. Image credit: Blossoms, Ewan Ogden

Who names their album ‘Gary’?

Formed in Stockport in 2013, Blossoms consists of Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Joe Donovan, and Myles Kellock. 

‘Gary’ is Blossom’s fifth studio album, released in 2024. It’s also their fourth number 1, and the work of a band who understand their sound, with enough confidence to stretch it to the point of satire – without losing a drop of credibility. 

Fuelled by driving bass and hearty piano with a dash of disco pizazz, ‘Gary’ is less a thread of songs and more a set of vignettes, tightly woven into an alt-rock/ indie album that somehow manages to make sense.

As Blossoms gear up for one more UK show in November before their EU tour next year, The Groove are warming up the colder, longer nights with a healthy dose of retro-inspired silliness, and we’re here to tell you why you should too.

Read on to discover what makes ‘Gary’ great, for our October album spotlight.

James McVey, The Grasmere Shows. Image credit - Ewan Ogden

The Curious Case of Gary

So, let’s start with the elephant – well, the gorilla – in the room. Lead single ‘Gary’ sounds good if you listen absentmindedly, better if you pay attention to the lyrics, and best when you watch the music video, featuring none other than Rick Astley as the main character. But who is Gary?

This is a true story. In March 2023, an 8-foot tall fibreglass gorilla, named Gary, made national news after it was stolen under mysterious circumstances from a garden centre in Scotland. Not your usual subject matter, but singer Tom Ogden has been known to take lyrical inspiration from quirky stories circulating in the media: 2019 hit ‘Your Girlfriend’ was penned after listening to a radio caller’s confessions about his feelings for his best mate’s partner - turned fiancé.

But back to Gary. This track is infused with a light-footed melody that is disarmingly irresistible, telling the story of Gary the gorilla in a careful dance of sympathy and silliness: ‘but you see he comes from a fairly extended family – don’t know how many brothers he has.’

“Once you’ve adjusted to the weird waters of this Blossoms’ album, you’ll find equal joy scattered through the rest of it.”

Blossoms Bring Light-Hearted Bliss Through 80s-Synth Soundscapes

Once you’ve adjusted to the weird waters of this Blossoms’ album, you’ll find equal joy scattered through the rest of it.

‘Gary’ opens with the swaggering ‘Big Star’ – a parody of the ‘who’s who’ industry fame-game: ‘He said he lives in Laurel Canyon / never been but it sounds exciting’. The overconfidence in ‘I Like Your Look’ follows a similar tune, featuring Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson – or CMAT – this year becoming a Mercury Prize nominee and breakout star in her own right. There’s a hint of sarcasm, but not enough to squash the track’s effortless groove: ‘I think your flares are so cute / I love that colour for you’.

The album does occasionally skirt around the topic of insecurity, largely portrayed with subtlety or sarcasm. The entirety of ‘Perfect Me’ is an exhaustive list of to-do’s and life lessons that will surely result in the best version of self, whereas final track ‘Why Do I Give You The Worst Of Me?’ is the most heartfelt, culminating in a racing bridge of spiralling self-critical apologies.

Blossoms weave comedy into their lyrics throughout this album, most seamlessly in ‘Nightclub.’ Here we join the band on an all-too relatable night out, where Ogden pins the focus of the song on waiting in the queue, rather than being in the nightclub itself. ‘It’s no use / we should have assembled a more desirable group / split up in twos / the chances of getting in would greatly improve’. The drama of the will-they-won’t-they get in builds to an oddly romanticised, vivid depiction of waiting around in the cold, though the track itself could unironically fill a dancefloor. 

Rick Astley pops up again in ‘Mothers’ – another nod to the era this album is influenced by and directly references: ‘Our mothers said they were friends back in the 80s / At the club dance to The Smiths and Rick Astley’. ‘Cinnamon’ sticks with the breezy, retro sound, returning to lyrical anecdotes that paint a more grounded but equally charming picture: ‘She said, "Ignore this garish colour scheme / It's always repulsed me".

“‘Gary’ isn’t a novelty or spoof album – despite its muse being a plastic gorilla. It’s another string to Blossoms’ bow, fitting in comfortably with previous releases. How many established artists could find the sweet spot between comedy and craft to pull that off?”

Gary’s Here For A Good Time, And A Long Time

‘Gary’ (the album, not the gorilla), was only released in September 2024, though it sounds just as fresh and fun now, and likely will for a long time – because Blossoms seem to know how to make timeless music best. The gorilla, meanwhile, was found last year sawn in two, with his front half still missing. But I’ll bet that this album will remain a ray of light we’re still enjoying if, and when, he’s ever found.

Not so often these days do albums pop up that are a genuine joy to listen to, front to back. While emotive vocals will always resonate and pop hooks will always fill the radio stations, ‘Gary’ is a masterful melange of talent, groove, and humour that doesn’t sound like anything else, yet retains a distinctly ‘Blossoms’-esque feel.

‘Gary’ isn’t a novelty or spoof album – despite its muse being a plastic gorilla. It’s another string to Blossom’s bow, fitting in comfortably with previous releases. How many established artists could find the sweet spot between comedy and craft to pull that off?