Gin Blossoms are one of those bands that managed to bring college-rock jangle into the mainstream without losing the bittersweet edge that made them stand out in the first place. They broke big in the early ’90s with songs like “Hey Jealousy,” “Found Out About You,” and later “Follow You Down,” giving them a sound that felt familiar, catchy, and a little worn around the edges in the best way.
The band formed in Tempe, Arizona in 1987 and worked through a lot of lineup changes and internal struggles on the way up. Their breakthrough came with New Miserable Experience, but that success was complicated by the firing and later death of guitarist Doug Hopkins, whose songwriting was a huge part of the band’s early identity. Even with all of that, they kept moving, scored more hits in the mid-’90s, split in 1997, then reunited a few years later and became an active touring band again.
