Acclaimed British band Blossoms’ brand-new album ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’ is out. The album features production by their consistent and renowned collaborators James Skelly and Rich Turvey.
Standout tracks on the record include recent singles ‘The Sulking Poet,’ ‘Care For,’ ‘Ode To NYC’ and the album’s title track, ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb.’ Other highlights include, ‘The Writer’ which deals with the fear of, and frustration associated with writer’s block and ‘Everything About You,’ one of the album’s only love songs, which Tom Ogden says is “as honest as they come.” ‘Visions’ meanwhile, contains one of the album’s key lyrics “Was I complete at 23,” as Tom explains. “At 23 I had just had a number 1 album and begun my relationship with my now wife, Katie. Reflecting on what I’d achieved at such a young age left me wondering, what now?”
Speaking about inspiration and meaning behind the album’s title, Tom explains, “While on tour in 2019 in Mexico, I visited Frida Kahlo’s house. Looking at her paintings on show, someone had described one of them as being like a ‘ribbon around a bomb’. I immediately thought that it was a great title for a song and album because of the imagery that it evoked in my mind. I thought about how lots of things in life could be described as being a ribbon around a bomb in the sense that as people we often dress things up which have a darkness lying beneath them.”
“This album revolves around a central character, ‘The Writer’. The more songs I wrote, the more I realized the writer is in fact me,” Tom reveals. “Having been so busy for the past 8 years, I never really had the chance to step back and reflect on what we’ve achieved, you’re so hellbent on the future, write the next album, tour, your life is usually mapped out almost 2 years in advance.”
Edwin Burdis, Arctic Monkeys’ Creative Director, who worked on the band’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino and AM albums has directed all of the creative and music videos for ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’, as well as a film of the same name, which will premiere at The Plaza Theatre in Blossoms’ hometown, Stockport next Tuesday, May 3. Watch the most recent music video for ‘The Sulking Poet’ HERE.
Currently, gearing up to play a series of live shows and festivals in the UK this summer as well as a run of support dates with The Killers. Blossoms have also announced plans to return to the U.S. with two shows confirmed in New York City and Los Angeles this summer. The band are set to play Irving Plaza in New York on Tuesday, August 16, followed by a show at Los Angeles’ iconic El Rey Theater on Thursday, August 18. Tickets are on sale now.
These live dates follow successful sold-out headline runs in 2019 and 2017 - including critically acclaimed appearances at Coachella Festival in California and Lollapalooza in Chicago. For a list of all live dates and to buy tickets, please visit www.blossomsband.co.uk/tour/.
Since forming in 2013, Blossoms have enjoyed widespread success and acclaim. Their 2016 debut ‘Blossoms’ topped the album charts for two consecutive weeks and went on to earn the band BRIT Award and Mercury Prize nominations, while 2018’s ‘Cool Like You’ charted at Number 4 in the UK album chart, spawning the anthemic singles “I Can’t Stand It”, “There’s A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)” and “How Long Will This Last?” Their third studio album, 2020’s ‘Foolish Loving Spaces’ was the band’s second UK Number 1 album and following the release of In Isolation/Live From The Plaza Theatre, Stockport in 2020, the band have now had four top 5 albums in the UK.