Blossoms ‘Gary’ review: Primate-based indie pop is a roaring success

A new album offers the chance for a hard reset and Blossoms seem to know that using one of the UK’s most endangered names as a title is a pretty definitive way of doing that. The Gary here, as they recently explained to Rolling Stone UK, is the fibre-glass gorilla who was stolen from a Scottish garden centre in 2023. It’s to the credit of frontman Tom Ogden that this brilliantly random moment has been turned into the most unlikely of earworms, anchored by an unstoppable groove. 

There’s impressive sonic growth too. Jungle’s Josh Lloyd-Watson worked with the group on ‘What Can I Say After I’m Sorry’ and ‘Nightclub’, both of which are pop gems that provide just two of the highlights on the album. This is also true of ‘I Like Your Look’, an unexpected yet enjoyable borderline spoken-word detour that emerged after the group began working with Irish star CMAT. 

‘Perfect Me’ is quite simply one of the best songs they’ve ever made, and sees Ogden extol the virtues of being your best possible self, while ‘Mothers’ is a nostalgic look at familial ties that feels genuinely sweet. 

It’s a brilliant start to life as independent artists after ditching Virgin EMI and going it alone. Ten years in, and they’re still delivering solid moments of indie-pop gold.