This album starts off with the very soft and mysterious “Free At Last”. I actually like a lot of the tones of these synths, they’re actually really striking. Not to mention, this sort of moody, goofy beat is very VERY hip. It’s funny, the first few times I listened to this track, it really didn’t hit me too hard. But I think this track actually has a seriously cool vibe to it. Some of the backing instrumentals are seriously classy, and vocalist Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s performance is very quaint and sweet. Like, I wouldn’t say there’s anything truly wild or groundbreaking about “Free At Last”. But for this sort of gloomy synth-pop, with elements of tons of other electronic genres, this is a solid introduction. It’s got a real sense of longing, which is something I always love. So yea, overall this really works for me as an intro. I don’t even mind that it’s 5 minutes long, it’s damn hypnotizing. Then we have “No One Like You”, which ditches the whole gloominess of the last one for a much more current sounding SynthPop tune. But this is still certainly pleasant for the most part. It’s very sunny which may be your thing or it may not be. And I continue to love a lot of those backing instrumentals that pop in every once in a while. But I feel like Raphaelle here sounds so much more faceless on this one, I don’t know what’s going on with all of this faceless electronic music lately. Some of her high notes, however, are pretty stunning, don’t get me wrong. But I feel like there’s no way to tell this is Blue Hawaii. It’s certainly pleasant to listen to and all. But nothing about “No One Like You” reaches out and grabs me. Now, next up is “Pregame”, and I don’t really know what I was supposed to take from this 16 seconds, but I got nothing. Now, “Versus Game” is totally different here for Blue Hawaii and goes totally a more mainstream direction. For me though, this works in so many ways. Yes, I can literally in my head see this being played in some edgy alternative dance club. But I love the nocturnal and gloomy beat to this, as well as Raphaelle’s much more downtrodden and emotional sounding performance. But that’s just it, that’s what draws me to this more than other tracks here. There’s actually a little emotion here and there, it’s not just big beats and bigger vocals. It’s smooth and icy, but there are tons and tons of lyrical moments that stand out and are very quaint. But outside of that, I really don’t mind the glitzy production on this and the stellar dance grooves. Hell yes, this as a singe works out, even if it ends up sounding like it belongs on the soundtrack to a “Night At The Roxbury” remake.
Now, “Belong to Myself” is something that I really wasn’t expecting to hear. This one is a much slower performance, with Raphaelle’s performance being the real star. It’s catchy and packed with attitude, and honestly sounds great. But I sort of wish the instrumental on this one would switch up a little because this one is seriously boring as hell as far as that goes. This easily could have been reassembled into a more dance-oriented track and it would have been so much more compelling. However, while this may not be for me, I do like a lot of elements like the lyrics and Raphaelle’s continued emotional performances. I continue to be really confused by these interludes go. “Prepare for Flight” is just as short and is just as much of a waste of time. Now, on the other hand, I really love the atmosphere on “Younger Heart”. I love the jazzy background instrumentals, the hazy and almost Chillwave synths, and just how haunting this all is. Once again though it’s the little details about this one that really set this one apart and makes Blue Hawaii really stand out. These vocals are absolutely ghoulish and seriously memorable. It’s packed with emotion, and some of Raphaelle’s very chilling high notes are done so well. Now, I’m not going to sit here and say that they should really focus on gloomier tracks. But so far, they gloomier tracks here have been hiding a whole lot more than the straight-up dance tracks. The lumbering beat is so hypnotic, and some of the instrumentals are truly stunning. I can’t say enough good things about this one. Now, I don’t want to focus too much on these damn interludes. But I can’t be the only one that thinks that moments like “Strummin” literally kill the momentum here. Yes, they’re sweet and sort of cryptic, but they kill the vibe for me.
“Make Love Stay” is probably the closest thing here to a standard dance track, with a beat that sort of sounds like it was inspired by World Music. It’s decent, but it doesn’t really stick as some of the earlier tracks here. Plus, it doesn’t help that Raphaelle’s performances have once again gone back to the faceless side of things. Blue Hawaii do make this one a little more memorable with some sweet backing instrumentals, and a really sweet and memorable chorus. Once again though, the problem with this album is just that so much of this is just sort of pleasant to listen to but doesn’t stick. Now, the next interlude “Big News” is a little different. They let it go on for a minute, which is a little more than usual, so I can actually connect with some of the atmospheres. On the other hand, this voiceover while it’s sweet just goes on for way too long. Sadly, “Blossoming From Your Story” really isn’t that much better. Raphaelle’s performance on this one has gone from faceless to truly annoying. Not only that, but this entire track is just obnoxious. There’s this beat that’s trying too hard to be “edgy”, just like Raphaelle’s performances. Neither one comes off nicely, and this track is just painfully awkward. At the very least though, “Searching For You” is sweet. I continue to really love the jazzy saxophones, they really should try and do a little more with those. This is just a straight up, great love song. It’s the sort of quaint track that I’ve really loved from them so far. There isn’t anything explosive in this beat, there isn’t anything genre defining, it’s just a tender Electronic love song. And while “Searching For You”, is on the mellow side, it remains hopeful and sweet.
“Do You Need Me” is up next, and once again these very lonely sounding tracks are hitting me so much harder. Raphaelle in her performance here sounds so incredibly heartbroken. But it’s easily one of her most sincere and stunning performances on the entire album. This one really doesn’t need a beat or anything to be eye-opening. It’s smooth, it’s icy, and ironically it’s easily the most human-sounding track here. But that’s where Blue Hawaii have been succeeding the most, making these tracks as human as they can. It’s that which is going to set them aside in the future. Until then, “Do You Need Me” works really nicely for the duo. Plus, when the more booming beats and noisy synths DO come in, they come of the most exciting here. But then we have “Tenderness”, with its distant samples and sort of obnoxious beat. There are some really sweet, delicate synth-pop tunes on this album, but then we get this and it’s just really confusing. Blue Hawaii have tried so hard to distance themselves from modern Dance and Electronic artists. But that’s exactly what they end up coming off as here. Once again, Raphaelle’s performance is just so damn faceless, and it’s leading this album to its downfall quickly. And at the very least, “Giggles” get’s points for being cute. Thankfully, “Far Away Soon” is actually a really pleasant finale. It’s soft, with just Raphaelle strumming away on an acoustic guitar for a very sweet Pop song. It’s short and all, but it’s certainly memorable.
Rating: 7.3/10
Give A Listen To: “Free At Last”, “Versus Game”, “Younger Heart”, “Do You Need Me”
Genre: Indietronic / Synth Pop / Dream Pop / Electronic
Overall Thoughts: Well this is certainly much more enjoyable and memorable than the band's debut album, that's for sure. But Blue Hawaii numerous times here really go out of their way to bring heart and emotion into Electronic music. Sometimes, it works in a big way and ends up really making this a delightfully sweet Pop album in parts. But there are some PAINFULLY awkward tracks here that make Blue Hawaii sound like every other Indie band with an electronic twist. In the future, personally I would like to hear the band go for some gloomier tracks, because those actually stuck out to me the most.
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