In just under a week since releasing their second number one album Foolish Loving Spaces, Blossoms arrived at the Leeds Beckett Students Union as a part of one of their February album launch shows. 

With no support acts playing before hand, the focus was purely on Blossoms as they kicked off the set with their new album’s first single, ‘Your Girlfriend’. The night mainly consisted of songs from their debut album Blossoms, and of course their most recent album Foolish Loving Spaces, although some of their other hit songs such as ‘There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)’ and ‘I Can’t Stand It’ were also played. 

Blossoms gave off the impression that they were there to have fun and entertain. By adding in elongated almost improvised guitar solos to some of their songs, as well as the fascinating addition of bongos to accompany Joe Donovan’s drumming, the band brought a unique energy with them to the gig. It was this energy that rubbed off on the audience, resulting in an electrifying atmosphere, consisting of mosh pits, chants and overall an exceptionally loud crowd. This was especially the case in their more popular songs such as ‘At Most a Kiss’, in which the venue seemed to erupt, creating some extremely memorable moments. 

For a band who are so accustomed to performing in much larger venues, Blossoms seemed to be immensely comfortable and relaxed in this much more intimate setting, with a prime example of this being the amount of times that front man Tom Ogden interacted with the audience. He often encouraged the crowd to sing on their own, such as when he played a short cover of Oasis’ ‘Half the World Away’ in between songs, and would even point at audience members and sing to them, creating a real connection between the band members and audience.

The band performed for just under an hour before wrapping up what was a terrific set with their most popular song ‘Charlemagne’. Having only seen Blossoms once before at Leeds Festival 2017, it was particularly enjoyable to witness the band perform in a much smaller and intimate venue. The venue size allowed the five-piece band from Stockport to showcase just how good they are live without the pressure of performing in front of a festival sized crowd, and as a result made this one of my favourite gigs yet.