blossoms before the cure, then

howdy pop pickers

well, what do you know. yes, i know the answer to that is probably more than me, look you see, but still. the last time i gone done a post on vibes was Now 18, and i rather foolishly said that it was rather unlikely for me to have any other new tunes before the much lauded return of The Cure. i at the time had no idea that i would take ownership of an album off of someone called Blossoms, something aided by the fact that i had not a clue they had a record out. or how many they have actually done. 

so, there i was, as usual (when chance permits) browsing the Oxfam music shop in Ealing. from time to time it is so that record labels (or their hired pluggers) drop off a few copies of a new release as a donation, for them to sell at whatever price they feel appropriate. which is exactly how i came to own the most recent Kaiser Chiefs album, before posting it on to Dad as he seemed rather keen on it. 

prior to picking up this tape (yes, for £1.99, which admittedly was the selling point) i don't believe i had ever knowingly heard anything off of them. quite likely that i have heard them, via the crime of listening to Zoe Ball every now and then. she will have had them on and been drooling about them as they are rather handsome lads and that's her way. beyond that my working knowledge of Blossoms would be that they did some covers of The Smiths songs with Rick Astley, and they are one of several bands enthusiastically lobbying to be on the support bill for the imminent Oasis legal costs tour. 

currently i have this tape (disc), Gary, on. it is quite likely the 10th time i have played it, since it's all of 30 minutes long, and i am not sure it shall ever be played again. this doesn't necessarily mean it is bad, just pretty meaningless and apparently designed, as is so much of this century i detest, to exist and be forgotten fast. 

my best possible description of this Gary album, and perhaps Blossoms all together, is that it is all surprisingly and remarkably anonymous. no, it's not the bland, beige, soulless stuff like what Coldplay and The Killers do, all designed just to fill stadiums. there's very, very clearly some talented musicians here, and some passion for great music. which makes it somewhat curious that it's all restrained, there's no risks, no exposing themselves (not like that), no saying much of anything. bar the titular track i suppose, which i believe references a stolen statue of a gorilla (or similar).

a bit of a strange phenomenon with the 30 minute (or half an hour) running time. whereas this length seems to be the "new normal", going on Kasabian and the previously linked Kaiser Chiefs records being of this same time, this feels longer. it's not like it is dragged out, it appears not to be as punchy or as free flowing as the other two. 

the best parts of this album (and i have no idea if this is standard for whatever else they have gone done) is when they sound quite like a breezy, whimsical Serge out of Kasabian on a particularly psychedelic day. nothing wrong with that, except of course we already have a Serge out of Kasabian what does that sort of thing. massive, huge alarm bells on the admittedly catchy song Perfect Me, where they appear to be trying to sound like ELO and Ringo Starr doing some generic thing that they know would sell plenty to people of a certain age and disposition. you are young lads, stop it. 

i find myself in a weird position here, as much of anything i can think of to write is going to sound like an attempt to knock them (or knock them more) where i generally have no wish to do so. again, there's clear quality, passion and talent lurking in this band, but they are flat refusing to let it come to the fore. my immediate comparisons are, oddly, Seven & The Ragged Tiger off of Duran Duran and Pop by U2. as in albums by bands who could and would do much better, but delivered what they could get away with when a foolishly planned release date was looming. 

oh dear, something called Cinnamon has come on. it's a nightmare flashback to all that quasi acoustic sh!t off of America which plagued the world around the turn of the century. it's even worse than that one where they try to sound like ELO, as much as that gets you Radio 2 airplay. 

yes, this album, Gary, is both the first and the last Blossoms album i shall ever own. i have every confidence they can do much, much better but i simply don't have the compulsion to explore. rather likely that the band shall survive just fine without my interest, which is a good thing. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!