Album Review: Late Bloomer – Waiting

Late Bloomer were formed when the members met in Lunchbox Records, a shop run by the band’s drummer Scott Wishart, much has changed since the the band’s initial chance encounter and they are now set to release their third album, Waiting. Late Bloomer have released an album that reflects how things have changed since their origins when they met over the vinyl racks, the album is focused on personal and political change, and the strangeness of getting older while still feeling connected to a subculture that’s centered around youth, and realizing that some parts of that culture might not be what you thought they were.

Complancency builds from its sludgy opening into a fine fuzzed up cry of rage, Sleeve follows on with distorted anthem that blends their punk and alternative influences, this track, along with January, takes aim at toxic male behaviour that exists within the scene. Waiting constantly challenges the culture in the current music scene, it’s an album that reflects a band trying to reconcile changes and contradictions that are encountered as time passes, you grow older and your perspectives inevitably change. This is all done with an impressive soundtrack that reflects their past and present, one that will appeal to fans of everyone from Husker Du and Dinosaur Jr to The Replacements and The Menzingers.

Waiting embraces Late Bloomer‘s DIY punk roots but also reflects other influences, 90’s alternative, grunge, post punk and hardcore are all present in an album that switches effortlessly in style across it’s ten tracks. Whilst there are tracks that stand out and stand alone, Waiting is an album that should be heard in one sitting rather than cropping up randomly in in a shuffled playlist. Hopefully we’ll a get a new generation of bands who will form whilst they’re buying album’s like Waiting in their local record shop, the growth of digital formats makes this increasingly unlikely but we can only hope.

Waiting can be purchased on CD, vinyl and cassette formats via 6131 Records here

You can stream and download Waiting via Bandcamp here