Blossoms and Declan McKenna recorded a single in a hot tub

Blossoms and Declan McKenna wrote and recorded vocals for a new song called Additional Driver in a hot tub, frontman Tom Ogden told NME in an interview published August 12. The session took place during a songwriting week in an Anglesey rental, the same house where Blossoms wrote their 2024 single I Like Your Look with CMAT.

The song is a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek track about a minor car collision Ogden had near Manchester's Apollo venue. "It felt like a fever dream," he said of writing it, and the band debuted it live for the first time at an intimate homecoming show at Manchester's Deaf Institute on August 5, with McKenna joining them onstage.

That Deaf Institute show marked ten years since Blossoms' self-titled debut album, and the band played it front to back alongside deep cuts and previews of new material. Additional Driver is expected on the band's sixth album, Songs From The Wedding Cake, due October 2, which also carries guest vocals from Rick Astley and Inhaler's Elijah Hewson.

Blossoms are returning to the Deaf Institute, the 260 capacity venue where they played their first show there in 2014, as part of marking the anniversary; the one-off gig doubled as a recording for a live album released alongside the new record. The band next take the songs to arenas, opening a UK tour at Cardiff's Utilita Arena on November 26.

The collaboration lands in our indie coverage, and follows Declan McKenna adding small UK shows before his Reading and Leeds slots earlier this month.