THE BLOSSOM Celebrates Their Insecurities in "SHAPESHIFTER"
Photo: Conor Cunningham
Who are you? It is a question that at its core is simultaneously simple and impossibly complex. After all, the "you" that you present to the world one moment may not necessarily be the same "you" that only makes itself known to your closest friends.
This tendency to shapeshift from one persona to the next, whether it stems from personal insecurity or in the hopes of meeting the real or imagined expectations of the world around us, builds the emotional crux of THE BLOSSOM's latest cathartic single. Following hot on the heels of "Hardcore Happy," "SHAPESHIFTER" is a wholly unapologetic joyride from start to finish.
THE BLOSSOM, and in turn "SHAPESHIFTER," feels equally as inspired by their Gen Z cohorts as they are by the static-tinted nostalgia of music videos playing on MTV. The result is a perfectly imperfect storm that blends leftfield pop hooks with an enthralling alternative bent, leaving only traces of euphoria and heartfelt lyrics in its wake.
Backed by an ensuing vortex of instrumentation that never quite wavers once it gets going, THE BLOSSOM sings of boldly embracing their reality and losing themselves in fantasy. In THE BLOSSOM's own words,
"'Shapeshifter' is a reminder I'm not worthless and neither are you. It’s a celebration of insecurities. It’s sonically and lyrically the energy of mixed emotions, my gender dysphoria, disconnection, anxiety and yearning for something more than what is. It's my cutting and devious grin at 3am when i tip my head back and laugh on the subway. It’s a spark of time captured where just for a moment my shadow feels 10ft tall… only to dip and duck in and out of that light. Forever shapeshifting just to say… 'Hi'.“
In its just over three-minute run, "SHAPESHIFTER" sinks its fangs in and never lets go. Anthemic, cathartic, vulnerable, unapologetic. The sentiments go on and on, but one thing is certain... it is a track you will not be forgetting any time soon.
Listen to "SHAPESHIFTER" below, and keep an eye out for THE BLOSSOM's debut EP, 97 BLOSSOM, set to release April 6:
