On the heels of a two-year break, Britain's the Vamps return with their fourth and most mature recording to date, 2020's Cherry Blossom. The album, which follows 2017's U.K. chart-topping Night Day, finds the group collaborating with a handful of top-level producers and songwriters, including Jack Coke (Tove Lo, Carly Rae Jepsen), Lostboy (Kwassa, Anne-Marie), and JHart (Little Mix, Fifth Harmony). In the past, the band have explored guitar-based pop, electronic dance music, and romantic boy-band balladry. Still teenagers when the Vamps started, here they bring all of that past experience to bear on a handful of assured and inspired songs that fit the group as they enter their mid-twenties. Rife with electronic and R&B undercurrents, the album showcases the band's deepened sense for hooky songcraft, a vibe that brings to mind the work of artists like Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5. Lead singer Bradley Simpson, who helped oversee the album's production, pushed the group towards a more sophisticated brand of pop that's both stylish and marked by just enough self-aware humor to keep things fun. On the kinetic and funky "Married in Vegas," Simpson paints a wry picture of Sin City romance, singing "Pushing 106 down PCH/I drink you down, the aftertaste/Tastes like heartbreak and mistakes, but I can't wait." Other engaging tracks follow, including the '80s adult contemporary-sounding "Would You," the Terence Trent D'Arby-esque "Bitter," and the neo-soul-inspired "Protocol." We also get the nervy electro-funk of "Chemicals" and the synthy, soundtrack-ready anthem "Nothing But You." As the title implies, Cherry Blossom is an album of new beginnings that also works as a milestone in the Vamps' career. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

1		Glory Days[Intro]
2		Glory Days
3		Better
4		Married In Vegas
5		Chemicals
6		Would You
7		Bitter
8		Part Of Me
9		Protocol
10		Nothing But You
11		Treading Water

	Like us on Facebook
	@SoundHound	Follow