Wikipedia

Gary (album)

Gary is the fifth studio album by the English indie pop band Blossoms. It was released on 20 September 2024 through ODD SK Recordings.[11] The album was supported by the singles "What Can I Say After I'm Sorry?", "Gary", "Perfect Me" and "I Like Your Look". The album and title track were named after a fibreglass gorilla statue of the same name, which was stolen from a garden centre in Lanarkshire, Scotland in 2023.[12][13][14]

Gary
Studio album by
Blossoms
Released20 September 2024
Genre
Length30:22
LabelODD SK Recordings
Producer
Blossoms chronology
Ribbon Around the Bomb
(2022)		 Gary
(2024)		 Songs from the Wedding Cake
(2026)
Singles from Gary
  1. "What Can I Say After I'm Sorry?"
    Released: 1 May 2024[3]
  2. "Gary"
    Released: 3 June 2024[4]
  3. "Perfect Me"
    Released: 23 July 2024[5]
  4. "I Like Your Look"
    Released: 19 September 2024
Singles from Deluxe Edition
  1. "To Do List (After The Breakup)"
    Released: 9 October 2023[6]
  2. "Mariah Carey Through Death Valley"
    Released: 28 February 2025
  3. "The Honeymoon"
    Released: 31 March 2025[7]
Singles from Covers Edition
  1. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"
    Released: 25 October 2024
  2. "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings"
    Released: 22 November 2024
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[8]
DorkStarStarStarStar[9]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarStar[10]

It debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's fourth UK number-one album, with 21,884 copies sold in its first week in the UK.[15][16] The album also debuted atop the UK's Vinyl Albums Chart and Record Store Chart, and was noted for having 86% of its total debut sales coming from physical formats.[17]

Background

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For this album, the band decided to record the album live, as opposed to rehearsing in the studio and recording bit-by-bit, as the band felt like they were finally good enough to do so. The writing process was also different, with half of the songs being more collaborative, as opposed to Tom Ogden writing the songs himself before bringing them to the band.[18]

While the majority of the album was produced by James Skelly of The Coral, this was the first Blossoms album to feature another producer, with Josh-Lloyd Watson from Jungle producing the tracks "What Can I Say After I'm Sorry" and "Nightclub".[19][20]

In 2023, the band rented out an Airbnb in Wales to do some songwriting, which CMAT joined them for. The tracks "I Like Your Look" and "Why Do I Give You The Worst Of Me?" emerged from these sessions. [21]

Release and promotion

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Alongside the main album, two physical-only special editions were released. One was a deluxe edition featuring nine bonus tracks. The other was "Gary's Covers", featuring renditions of songs by Whitney Houston, The Real Thing, Radiohead, Mario, Neil Diamond, Caroline Polachek, Lady Gaga, and Bob Marley.[22][23] "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings" were released as subsequent singles digitally. "Gary's Covers" later saw a full digital release on 20 December 2024. On 28 February 2025, "Mariah Carey Through Death Valley" was released as the lead single of a forthcoming digital release of the deluxe edition.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Tom Ogden, Josh Dewhurst, Charlie Salt, Joe Donovan & Myles Kellock, except where noted. All tracks are produced by James Skelly, except where noted.

Gary track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Big Star"  3:15
2."What Can I Say After I'm Sorry?" 
2:48
3."Gary"  2:30
4."I Like Your Look"
2:56
5."Nightclub" 
  • Lloyd-Watson
  • Skelly
3:01
6."Perfect Me"  3:10
7."Mothers"  3:32
8."Cinnamon"  2:44
9."Slow Down"  3:37
10."Why Do I Give You the Worst of Me?"
  • Ogden
  • Dewhurst
  • Salt
  • Donovan
  • Kellock
  • Thompson
 2:49
Total length:30:22
Gary (Deluxe Edition) bonus track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Honeymoon"  3:08
2."To Do List (After The Breakup) [Feat. Findlay]"
 3:15
3."Amsterdam In The Rain" Blossoms3:48
4."Get Happy" Blossoms3:23
5."Mariah Carey Through Death Valley"  2:47
6."Edwyn & Roddy"
  • Ogden
  • Dewhurst
  • Salt
  • Donovan
  • Kellock
  • Thompson
Blossoms4:51
7."Me Vs. Me" Blossoms3:07
8."Television"  2:12
9."L Is For Love"OgdenOgden2:00
Total length:28:31

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart performance for Gary
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[24]3
UK Albums (OCC)[25]1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[26]1

References

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  1. ↑ musicforthemisfits (21 September 2024). "Albums: Blossoms – Gary". Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  2. ↑ Lewis, Rosanna (21 September 2024). "BLOSSOMS' GARY: whimsy & catchy melodies in a refreshing pop rock package". Buzz Magazine. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  3. ↑ Reilly, Nick (2 May 2024). "Blossoms share new track 'What Can I Say After I'm Sorry'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  4. ↑ Reilly, Nick (3 June 2024). "Blossoms announce fifth album 'Gary' and share title track". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  5. ↑ Skinner, Tom (24 July 2024). "Blossoms share new single 'Perfect Me': "It's a subconscious nod to ABBA, Springsteen and The Killers"". NME. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  6. ↑ "Blossoms share To Do List (After The Breakup) single feat Findlay". Radio X. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  7. ↑ Dunworth, Liberty (1 April 2025). "Listen to Blossoms' passionate new single 'The Honeymoon'". NME. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Harrison, Emma (18 September 2026). "Blossoms – Gary". Clash. Retrieved 6 March 2026. Cite error: Unknown parameter "name"clash"" in <ref> tag; supported parameters are dir, follow, group, name (see the help page).
  9. ↑ Muir, Jamie (19 September 2024). "Blossoms - Gary". Dork. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  10. ↑ Reilly, Nick (19 September 2026). "Blossoms 'Gary' Review: Primate-based indie pop is a roaring success". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 March 2026. Cite error: Unknown parameter "name"rolling" in <ref> tag; supported parameters are dir, follow, group, name (see the help page).
  11. ↑ Dunworth, Liberty (20 September 2024). "Watch Blossoms enlist famous Garys to promote new album". NME. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  12. ↑ "Blossoms on Gary, the gorilla that helped them reach 'the peak of our powers'". BBC News. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  13. ↑ "Blossoms say hit song was inspired by statue stolen near Glasgow during TRNSMT set". Glasgow Times. 14 July 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  14. ↑ "Gary the Gorilla statue stolen from Carluke garden centre". BBC News. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  15. ↑ "Blossoms secure fourth UK Number 1 album with Gary following close race". Official Charts. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  16. ↑ "Charts analysis: Blossoms top 20,000 sales with fourth No.1 album and first indie release | Analysis | Music Week". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  17. ↑ Lynch, Jessica (30 September 2024). "Blossoms Secure Fourth U.K. No. 1 Album With 'Gary'". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  18. ↑ Gautier, Victor (20 September 2024). "Interview – Meeting with Tom Ogden, singer/guitarist of Blossoms". Sound Of Brit. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  19. ↑ Buchanan, Rhys (25 September 2024). "Blossoms: "The last thing we want to do is mimic what we've done before"". NME. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  20. ↑ @BlossomsBand (6 May 2024). "How we made our new single What Can I Say After I'm Sorry?" (Tweet). Retrieved 31 March 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  21. ↑ @blossomsband; (21 January 2025). "How we wrote 'I Like Your Look' with @cmatbaby!". Retrieved 31 March 2026 – via Instagram.
  22. ↑ Duran, Anagricel (10 July 2024). "Blossoms announce 'Covers Edition' of new album 'Gary', including classics by Radiohead and Lady Gaga". NME. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  23. ↑ Wescott, Andrew (10 July 2024). "Blossoms are taking on Radiohead, Lady Gaga and more for 'Gary (Covers Edition)'". Dork. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  24. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 27/9/2024 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  25. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 27/9/2024 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  26. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 27/9/2024 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
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