Tracklist

1. Joke About Divorce
2. Husband
3. Meet Me in Love
4. The Kardashians
5. Additional Driver (feat. Declan McKenna)
6. Fall Into You
7. Guts
8. Uma Thurman
9. Where Have You Been My Whole Life?
10. The Deep End

Thoughts

Blossoms are such an intriguing band to me, because they obviously adore everything 70s (hair and clothes, etc), which I do not. But their music is good enough for me to overlook that, so I was excited to get into this new album release.

The title of the album, Songs From the Wedding Cake, gives you a clue as to what the focus is - this is an album about being newly and happily married. But thankfully, it's not the loved-up melt-fest you'd expect (Jason Mraz is my go-to example for someone who leaned too far into the saccharine).

The first track, Joke About Divorce, is a knowing take on newlywed arguments. You think it's all in good fun until that moment where you go just a step too far. "I guess this argument's not the place for a joke about divorce / My intentions were just a playful thing / To make you laugh of course." And The Kardashians is a slightly odd name for a love song. It's about falling even more in love with someone hungover and watching trash TV, which is entirely relatable.

The bass playing of Charlie Salt drives the whole piece. The bass lines are complex and stand out from the rest of the instruments without being obnoxious. When I wasn't listening to the lyrics, I had an ear out for the bass at every opportunity.

The album is a pretty standard 40-minute length but sustains throughout - even the story-driven track Additional Driver gets away with being sung enough not to annoy me. The tracks do get a bit more loved-up towards the end (Where Have You Been My Whole Life? and The Deep End) but the album has built up enough goodwill with the wry look at life that I loved it all the way to the final notes.

I'm happily adding this one to my library for future listens. The realistic look at love and marriage makes this a firm 5/5.

Rating: 5 / 5