Stockport's finest sons' Blossoms, fresh from securing their second UK number one album, with their third record, the excellent 'Foolish Loving Spaces' start their latest tour at the UEA's LCR.
Opening with the catchy Your Girlfriend is the start of a flawless opening barrage as the monstrous There's a Reason Why and then I Can't Stand It follow in quick succession. It's a breathlessly uplifting start to the well-crafted set they have perfected from years of hard touring and the musicianship on show is near perfect, they've become a groovy well-oiled machine.
As well as the impossibly tight playing they've slowly expanded the live show with extra musicians flanking them on all sides. Two more additional percussion players and a third guitarist has significantly beefed up the five piece sonically, to create a wonderful warm cacophony of sound.
The big hitting singles from their self-titled debut album are still possibly their strongest songs, sprinkled evenly throughout the set. The syrupy melodies of Getaway and Honeysweet wash over the venue as singer Tom Ogden discards his guitar momentarily to strut around stage, hips gyrating and microphone swinging at all times.
They play almost the entirety of the new material and it slots effortlessly alongside old fan favourites such as Blown Rose and Unfaithful. There has always been a retro eighties sound present in their songcraft, like a band catapulted from the past, with clear influences from the likes of The Talking Heads to The Human League. But new songs such as recent single The Keeper incorporate the funky rhythms and gospel vocals of Primal Scream and The Happy Mondays. My Swimming Brain looks set to be a future favourite as the fans are already word perfect, screaming adoringly up at this gang of long haired, finely dressed popstars.
Five years on from its initial release, they still end with the anthemic Charlemagne after an encore of How Long Will This Last and the gigantic chugging stomper At Most a Kiss. With the first chord of an instantly recognisable and equally as infectious sparkly synth hook, the crowd detonates into a fireball of stampeding bodies.
They're not a band you'd necessarily expect fans to mosh or start circle pits to, but anything goes with a fanbase this adoring. The Blossoms live experience is a joyous ninety minutes of pure musical ecstasy and positivity.
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