Newfoundland-born but Halifax-based group, bleu, have released their third full-length album, tropical depression. Gentle and calm, the album whispers in your ears of times of trouble while cradling you in light and playful instrumentals.
After creating two albums worth of music based around two different major life events, frontman Marcus McLaughlin weeded and melded those works into one. A year an a half in the making, tropical depression was self produced in McLaughlin’s home. In addition, it is the first album released by bleu since since McLaughlin relocated from St. John’s to Halifax and found a new group of musicians to continue with his project.
“The album definitely deals with processing inherent change,” says McLaughlin. “The songs sort of come from two separate points in my life where basically I made two entirely different albums. Both albums were heavily influenced by some drastic change in my day to day life and how I was able to deal with those changes.”
Musically, each of the album’s eight tracks are soft and easy to take in. It’s jangly, dreamy, and full of synths. While most tracks stay slow and calm, leaning more heavily into synthy sounds and carrying a steady drumbeat, tracks “Yurt” and “Gone” take on faster and slightly heavier tones. Incidentally, those are two of the only three tracks written for McLaughlin’s earlier project that made it onto tropical depression.
“The first collection of songs came from a time in late 2017 when I was living in a house in which I could make lots of noise and play drums as loud as I want. I also lived with a few other musicians (some of which are in the band) and we shared a lot of gear, microphones, etc., so I had more access to that stuff.
“For the second and more recent set of songs from which this album is derived, I moved in with my partner and had a lot less gear or guidance from my friends, but the songs became a lot more personal and direct, and I’m happy with how those turned out.”
“Weight” also stands out for its stronger inclusion of dynamic instrumentals. It too takes on a louder sound, and the music carries the emotions that are behind it. Named fittingly, the track has a heavy feel and even takes on a slightly retro tone, almost reminiscent of the Cure’s tamer side.
And while recorded at home, the production is smooth and well-balanced. McLaughlin’s vocals, soft and echoey, murmur words that come from a deep place but than can be taken as lightly or as seriously as the listener may choose.
In keeping with the relaxed theme, tropical depression’s tracklist and title, along with the band’s name, are written without the use of capital letters.
“I just think it removes some of the formality. A lot of people in music (or in anything really) take themselves so seriously and I’m like ‘what is the point?'”
Though no shows are currently booked, bleu have plans to release the album in physical form and say that bookings are likely to follow suit.