ON THE RISE
Authentic, humble, creative, and genius—these words capture the essence of screenwriter and musician Lamar Woods. His latest work, the sophomore album Highly Sensitive Person, released earlier this year, reflects his extraordinary talent and a perfect start to the year.
Highly Sensitive Person showcases Woods’ ability to blend genres with finesse. The album’s 19 tracks weave together hip-hop, jazz, soul, folk, and R&B elements, creating a rich and immersive listening experience. For example, “True Love Will Find You In The End”—a cover by Daniel Johnston—commences with warm acoustic guitar and Woods singing before a trap beat emerges mid-song, and he unleashes his bars. This shows that Highly Sensitive Person is a sonic roller coaster with unexpected twists and turns, keeping you on your turns.
“I wanted to do an album that bangs the whole way through,” Woods explained. “Like if I was Costco, this was a little taste of me (like samples), every version of me. I’m from Atlanta, so I love trap music, and I love trap beats…I don’t really rap on them a lot. I was just like, ‘Maybe we just throw it on there even though it didn’t technically really fit with the album that much.’ But I like the idea of being like, ‘Ths is also a part of me.’ There’s a trap part of me. There’s that boom-bap part of me. There’s the folk part of me. There’s a love song part of me. I wanted that album to feel like you’re really getting to know me because if you knew me if we were to hang out and talk about music, we’re talking about everything…like Langhorne Slim, Arcade Fire, Boldy James, Jazz and Miles (Davis).”
Woods has crafted a sonic landscape that feels both nostalgic and innovative. His lyrical flow, paired with the thoughtful inclusion of skits—an often overlooked art form in modern rap—adds a unique dimension to the album. Drawing from his experience as a screenwriter, Woods uses these skits to enhance the storytelling within the album, creating vivid scenes and narratives with fellow comedians like actor Mike Mitchell that deepen the listener’s engagement. He encourages his listeners to listen to the entire album in order.
Woods’ dedication to music has been unwavering since high school, where he formed a band that performed a unique blend of rap, hip-hop, and punk. His commitment to his craft was evident in the vibrant music scene of his city, where he performed at local venues like The 5 Spot, Eddie’s Attic, and Smith Ole Bar, building his underground following. After graduating from Georgia State University, Woods fearlessly relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood, temporarily putting his music on hold. However, his dedication to music never wavered, and he found success as a screenwriter, contributing to notable shows such as Grand Crew (NBC), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC), Single Parents (ABC), New Girl (FOX), and Survivor’s Remorse (Starz). He co-wrote and starred in It’s a Party, available on Roku and Amazon.
Like many, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic became a turning point for Woods as he felt pulled back to his musical roots. Although he hesitated to pursue music again, he couldn’t deny his first love. This reconnection led to the release of several EPs and LPs, including his debut album, Wine Bars, in 2021. Building on this momentum, Woods released Highly Sensitive Person in 2024, an album that further cements his place in the music world.
Highly Sensitive Person is just a semblance of Woods’ talents. The Atlanta-bred is getting ready to expand and showcase just how versatile his music palette is with upcoming projects listeners must look forward to.
Listen to Highly Sensitive Person here.
Lamar Woods Socials
ON THE RISE
Blossoms caught up with NME to discuss competing with The Beatles and Johnny Marr for this week’s Number One album. With ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ in the running, the band also explained why making things themselves remains such an important part of their work as AI becomes more common.
The Stockport group put out their sixth album last Friday, October 2. By the midweek update, it was sitting at Number Two, between The Beatles’ expanded edition of ‘Rubber Soul’ and Johnny Marr’s latest solo album, ‘The Age Of Everything’.
“It’s mad, to be honest,” singer Tom Ogden said to NME about the chart race. “Liverpool on one side, Manchester on the other and Stockport in the middle. If you’d told us this 10 years ago, when we were releasing our debut, I wouldn’t have believed you. But I mean, we’re in good company aren’t we?”
Discussing the stories behind the album, Ogden described ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ as “about being married and all the everyday stuff that comes with it”. He married Katie Donovan, the sister of Blossoms drummer Joe, in 2021. Married life has since given him a new appreciation for what he describes as “the extraordinary ordinary”.
“Saying the wrong thing in an argument, losing your wife’s no claims bonus, crying at the Kardashians, it’s all in there,” he explained. “The album is named after Stockport Town Hall, which everyone round where we live calls the Wedding Cake, and it’s where I got married, so it couldn’t be much closer to home.
“The last album [‘Gary’, 2024] had a song about a stolen fibreglass gorilla, which everyone loved, and that gave us the confidence to bring the same playfulness to this one, just with more personal subject matter this time.”
Alongside tracks that came out of writing sessions with Declan McKenna in a hot tub, the album reflects the band’s desire to stay involved in every part of the creative process.
“It started with the recording,” Ogden explained. “We made the album with Shawn Lee, playing live straight to tape, and once you’ve done it that way you can’t really go and fake everything else. We sat down as a band and picked the colour palette, and everything visual followed from that. We had body scans taken of ourselves and cake toppers of the five of us 3D printed, put them on a real cake and photographed it. I’ve directed and edited the videos, and the sets are all built by hand, no green screen. For the pop-up shop on launch weekend, a local artist hand-painted the album cover for the sign outside.
“It’s more work, but you end up with a world that’s yours, and I think people can tell when a band’s had its hands on everything.”
With AI tools and digital effects becoming increasingly widespread, that approach feels particularly relevant. For Blossoms, though, the motivation is simple: “the fun is in the making”.
“Tape doesn’t let you cheat and neither does a real cake,” Ogden said. “If a set’s a bit wonky, it’s because one of us or our mates built it. I think the more stuff gets generated, the more people want to know a human being actually did it. We’ve been in this band together for over 10 years, five lads from Stockport, and that isn’t something you can ‘prompt’.”
Maya Jama also appeared in the video for the album’s first single, ‘Meet Me In Love’. Her appearance came shortly before the UK launch of Celebrity Traitors, where she took on the role of a traitor alongside a cast that included Richard E Grant and James Acaster.
“She was brilliant,” Ogden recalled of working with Jama. “We’d met her at the MTV EMAs in Manchester a couple of years ago, so we took a chance and sent her a DM …and she said yes. Next thing she’s in a theatre in Cheadle miming my vocals while a load of people dressed as me serenade her. She got the idea straight away and was a proper laugh about it.”
The conversation then turned to whether he thought Jama could take home the win on Celebrity Traitors.
Ogden joked: “As for Traitors, she spent a whole day pretending to sing my song and I almost believed her, so I’d say she’s got every chance.”
Fans can listen to ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ now. In November, Blossoms head out on a UK arena tour with The Royston Club. Tickets and further details are available here.
Before the tour begins, the group is also scheduled to appear on SNL UK on Saturday, October 24.
