Blossom- Milky Chance Review
Milky Chance crashed onto both the indie and mainstream scene very quickly with their melancholy folk album Sadnecessary. Their top hit Stolen Dance was on the charts for months, and the album itself was loved by critics, and listeners worldwide. The German group have now released their much anticipated second record titled: Blossom. The group have taken a different, more upbeat approach to their music in this new record. Instead of the depressing folk, it is a more chill, upbeat, and funky record. Let’s get right into it:
Blossom
The record opens with this very upbeat, and funky tune. The song is very Milky Chance with a nice clean guitar riff, and a funky beat to it. The song flows very well with a clear chorus, and verse. It is repetitive, but has been done tastefully so, and not out of laziness. It is a nice song with some very bright lyrics that welcome you into the record with a warm tone. The vocals are nice and clean. They blend with the instrumentals quite nicely to create this very sweet, and uplifting feel to the song. It is a great opener to the album, and introduces audiences into the style Milky Chance are experimenting with in the album.
8/10
Ego
This is very similar to Blossom in feel. The style of the album has now properly been established. The song is a lot more simple than Blossom, but works for the song. It is also structured quite well with parts of the song being clear. The chorus is quite repetitive, but like Blossom it sounds like a more artistic choice than just Milky Chance being lazy. It is not anything special, but is a light listen.
6.5/10
Firebird
This is one of the best songs on the album. From opening to the end, the riff is incredibly catchy, and gets better as the song progresses. The song is a lot more complicated than the previous two, but is not as upbeat. The opening of the song is nice, and surprisingly translates well into an acoustic riff. The build of the song is slow, subtle, and incredibly effective for the song. The guitar solo is also a nice touch to really complete the song. The vocals in this song fit very well with the rest, and adds to the chill atmosphere of the song.
8.5/10
Doing Good
The best part of this song is the chemistry between vocals and instrumentals. Clemens shows off his connection between the music well. The only problem is it does not quite contain that kick the previous songs, and is structured very questionably. The song changes very suddenly, and is unclear what section of the song it is. Something the previous songs did really well. It is a nice song, but lacks anything to make it special.
6/10
Clouds
This is a very nice song. It has an interesting and different sound, but fits the chill vibes the album has. This experiments with different styles the group previously have not tried, but have nailed these things quite well. The song, like most of the other songs, have structured it really well with clear sections. It’s a nice addition to the album with a range of pleasing effects.
7.5/10
Cold Blue Rain
This song is not as upbeat as the previous songs, but still fits in well with the rest. It has a lot of experimentation with different vocal styles, and instruments that work well for the song. It is a sad song that feels uplifting. The lyrics are sad, but the instrumentals are bright. A contrast that really works well for the song.
7/10
Stay
Stay is simple. It’s a sad acoustic song with a haunting riff that compliments the very desperate cries of Clemens singing about him wanting a certain person to stay with him. Who this person is remains ambiguous, but it really does work with the mellow acoustic guitar and Clemens vocal work. It has a different feel to most songs, but still fits with the album well.
8.5/10
Bad Things
Like other tracks: this has a lot of experimentation with things Milky Chance has not used previously. One thing in particular is the introduction of another singer; Izzy Blue. Blue is great on this track. She blends with Clemens very well to create a nice dynamic between the two. The song tells a story of a couple that use each others company to drown their problems, which is a very beautiful concept. The song has a nice book ending that wraps it up quite nicely.
8/10
Cocoon
This song captures the vibe the album is trying to create very well. It is very uplifting with sweet lyrics, a funky beat, and Clemens signature vocals. It is not a different or special song, but it is a very fitting song that the album needs in order to establish its sound. Its just plain good in a very Milky Chance way.
8/10
Losing you
This is the worst song on the album. Its not bad by any means, but its not of the quality the previous songs have been at. It jumps around too much from different feelings making it jarring, and has some very bland vocal work in it. It feels like a filler song with no clear sound the song wants to capture.
5.5/10
Paripeteia
This is the most experimental song on the album. It has a Western vibe to it, but has nothing to do with anything of that nature. The lyrics are the most redeeming part of it, but the song does lack something. The first and second verse feel incomplete with a quiet riff, and haunting harmonies, but it needs more than just that.
7/10
Alive
The song is good. It has a nice riff, some well done vocals, average lyrics, and some effects that mix nicely. The only problem is it is forgettable compared to the rest of the album. It is not bad, but is not at the quality the rest of the album is on.
6/10
Piano Song
Other than the extremely creative title, the song is good. If this really fits in with the rest of the album is debatable, but ultimately; it does feel like a Milky Chance song. It’s a sad song, as most piano songs from artists like Milky Chance are, but this has a lot of charm, and emotion than previous songs have had. Stay is the only song that compares to the feeling that this song creates.
8/10
Heartless
The song combines almost everything Milky Chance have introduced in the album in one song that closes the album well. It has some strange areas, but the clever instrumental work make up for it. The vocal work is not Clemens best, but still not his worst either. It closes the record well, but still itself is not an amazing song.
7/10
Overall the album has a very different sound and feel to it than Milky Chance’s previous work had. It is more upbeat than the depressing themes of Sadnecessary, and feels more alt rock than indie folk. The album is structured strangely with no flow of songs, just random songs playing in no pattern. It ruins the feeling as the sad songs are really great, but are surrounded by upbeat songs, so it does confuse listeners. The vocal and lyric work are average with some songs being vastly better than others in that area. In overall quality; most songs keep in a certain range of 6-8.5. The album is good. It is a light listen, and creates some very bright vibes that make them hard to hate. It’s not better than their previous record, but it isn’t worse either. Just different.
7.5/10
