The first three tracks are definitely the stand-outs with insanely catchy choruses implementing unusual instrumental combinations to underlay the dream-like vocals. The theme of love stories is undeniable in not only the records lyrics but even its song titles. ‘If You Think This Is Real Life’ discusses a failed relationship, the wildly successful single ‘Your Girlfriend’ explores a protagonist falling for his mate’s titular partner, and ‘The Keeper’ is a classic declaration of love. While the production values certainly give a quality polish to the end product, the acoustic versions of every track available on the deluxe version show that the songwriting can flourish even when this is stripped back.
The band are also capable of slowing things down with the calm ‘My Vacant Days’ and ‘Falling For Someone’, which continue the appealing melodies and harmonies through to the end. ‘Like Gravity’, which births the LP’s title, is a more interesting experiment in sound with a long run-time and instrumental breakdown sections, proving the band doesn’t always rest on their laurels. Songwriter Tom has actually described that he found writing about love to be more of a challenge, as it’s hard to make things interesting when you’re mainly focusing on the positives.
Overall, this album is bound to irritate some with its blatant focus on somewhat cheesy commentary on love and not straying too far from the bands previous tone, but as usual, it is hard not to get swept up in the straightforwardly enjoyable soundscape that Blossoms create and I’m sure these anthemic hooks will join tracks such as ‘Charlemagne’ in their legendary live sets that comfortably sit among the best of the UK’s indie headliners.
Overall, a 4/5