At the intersection of shoegaze’s haze and the pulse of post punk, Blue Livingroom has created a sound that feels familiar and intimate. Their 2021 album For Keeps was initially self-released, circulating quietly, and for the first time, it receives a physical edition through Sister Cylinder, pressed in a limited run of just fifty copies on cassette.
Across its ten tracks, For Keeps unfolds with a distinctly atmospheric sense. A dimly illuminated interior world is shaped by eerie synths that float, and swell over preprogrammed beats. Vocals with a lot of reverb echo like blurred declarations, offering fuzzy glimpses before fading into the background, never going into too much detail.
For Keeps spans ten tracks and is obviously a fully-formed statement for Blue Livingroom. The band’s vision comes through clearly, showing that they have in mind exactly what they want for this project, and where it resides emotionally. You’ll Know When It’s Over is one of the moments where that intention hits especially hard.
The outcome is music that feels warm, unguarded, and enigmatically bare in all the right ways.
ZR