Photo: Jon Mo
Risking eternal cultural excommunication, a confession. I’ve never seen Stranger Things. Strange things, sure – I once followed a 20-foot papier mache Jarvis Cocker around Glastonbury for four hours – but Stranger Things? Never bothered. So when we’re told that the video for Blossoms’ new single ‘Honey Sweet’ is a tribute to the show, I can only assume that Netflix series is a kind of retro US push-bike version of Top Gear.
For here the breakout Manchester indie pop heroes are, cycling around the grimmer locales in their hometown of Stockport following co-ordinates to some mysterious artefact, and occasionally arguing over a map. The clip is marvellously at odds with the high-sheen pop gloss of the track, one of the standouts from their acclaimed self-titled 2016 debut album, although the 80s bikes smack of the synthetic neon era the song nods to. And when they reach their destination to find a Back To The Future DeLorean time machine hidden away in a grotty Stockport lock-up, it’s the perfect embodiment of the clash between Blossoms’ anti-glam aesthetic and ultra-glam sound.
Check out the video on Shortlist.com here, and in the meantime, by order ot the management, I’ll be dutifully tied to Netflix in catch-up mode for the next three weeks.
