Fierce, restless, and enigmatic, Blossom’s sophomore album ‘Maybe’ explores the thoughts and emotions that consume us when sleep just won’t come.
— —
Listen: Maybe – Blossom
2AM is its own type of limbo. It straddles both the late night and the early morning, stranding one between reverie of the past and anticipation of what’s next. This is the restless mind’s playground, a time for waxing philosophical while tossing and turning on rumpled sheets. It’s the hour of hasty “U up?” texts before the brain kicks in enough to say no. It’s when plans are made and subsequently dashed hours later with the rising sun. Midnight may be the witching hour, but you don’t know who you truly are until you’ve been alone with yourself at two.
Maybe, the new album from Portland singer-songwriter Blossom, lives in this fluid space when the night is deepest. An ethereal journey into her psyche, it hinges on the infinite possibilities awakened in these hours. “Maybe” is a mission statement, a hallway of doors for the restless and the curious. All you have to do is reach out and turn the handle.
Maybe I should be somewhere far away
Or maybe I should stay here another day
My mind’s running on a casual day
Atwood Magazine is proud to premiere Maybe, the new album by Blossom. Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, she since relocated to Portland, OR where she has become one of the hottest artists to watch in the city. After making a name for herself with 2017’s pop-tinged Tease, she gears up for one hell of an entrée with Maybe. Eschewing the radio-friendly hooks of her first release, she allows her ideas room to breathe, flavoring them with chillwave soundscapes that would sit nicely with other beats for studying/relaxing to. It’s this expansiveness that calls to mind the sleepless hours spent battling one’s thoughts. And battle she does.
Insomnia’s wiry grip intensifies the restlessness felt across twelve tracks of ambient R&B. Whether it’s a spiteful lover keeping her mind racing on “Anxiety,” or the extended draft of a late-night booty call in “More Than,” she gives voice to all the angst that keeps us sweating through bedsheets in the dark. “So many feelings,” she muses on moody album closer “Suul.” “How do I balance my emotions?”
Balance may not be the key though. Sometimes the only way out of a racing mind is through it, allowing yourself to be buffeted by whatever comes up. She echoes the same sentiment in the album’s final few lines:
Shouting up to the sky
Maybe you can tell me why
Why I have to love and learn
Why I have to crash and burn
I don’t find clarity by simplicity
I like things the hard way
Each song exists as its own fever dream, a window into a separate corner of Blossom’s wandering mind. But none veer from Maybe’s cohesive train of thought. Throughout the album, she moves from one rumination to the next as if it’s all part of a single bout with insomnia. The emotions have their way with us as they stream forth on sultry vocals and alluring electronic beats.
It’s this sense of freestyling one’s feelings that gives Maybe perhaps its most appealing attribute. It’s authentic — a diary page torn from literally any one of our lives. We’ve all been the narrator of “Glitch, pining after an unavailable f*ckboi. We’ve all fallen into out same questionable routine for the thousandth time like the singer of “LaDiDa.” A look into this collection of songs is a look in the mirror. Her haunting harmonies heighten this feeling of camaraderie.
On “Cabana,” Blossom’s melody gets lost in a cluster of sympathetic voices, all basking in each other’s company, while airing their grievances with the artificiality surrounding them.
At the local cabana
Trees imported for glamor
The plastic looks so green and serene
The Hollywood daydream
Our experiences, she suggests, don’t matter as much as their aura. The rose gold light leaks on a #wanderlust Instagram post. Everything is curated to gobble up likes and as a result our experiences take a backseat. When was the last time you actually watched a concert without viewing it through a screen?
On Maybe, Blossom invites us to shut down our devices and put aside our insatiable hunger for likes. Let our thoughts overwhelm us in the shifting limbo of the night. That’s how you truly get to know yourself — not viewed through a filter or curated like a brand, but your whole, unabashed, unfiltered self. Maybe you’ll like what you find. Maybe you won’t. But Maybe will take you there regardless.
:: Inside Maybe ::
“King Kai“
“This is my God-son! He sometimes freestyles before bed when his mom is putting him to sleep and this one was one of my favorites. I really wanted his spirit to be a part of the album.”
“Career Suicide“
“About wanting so much of the material things in the industry and how maybe getting what you think you want can be a form of suicide.”
“Glitch“
“A fool for love. And falling for someone who won’t be there to pick you up.”
“Betty Rizzo“
“An ode to my favorite character in Grease. I connected with her rebellion and tough exterior but soft heart.”
“LaDiDa”
“A sweet serenade to the boys who tried to court me in their old, beat up cars and me falling for it every time.”
“Moi a Moi“
“Self-reflection on lust and trust.”
“Cabana“
“This one is for the girls and the way we tend to not greet each other. There is enough to go around.”
“Epian“
“A trip to California and meeting boys that are excited at the idea of fresh meat. They wanna wine and dine you because your only there for a short time.”
“More Than”
“Late night lust!”
Watch: “More Than” – Blossom
“Honey If You Hear“
“Is it real love? Being in a relationship with someone who has maybe saved you from dark days and questioning if you really love each other or use each other for security.”
“Suul”
“Another self-reflection song but one that dwells on how people have made me feel conflicted with myself and finding my way out.”
— —
Connect to Blossom on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © Ashley Walt
