In 1997 I bought this #brokenheartsareblue cd because at the time I would have purchased anything called "broken hearts are blue". This is one of those albums that when I revisit it I am awash with both nostalgia and simultaneously just how fucking good it is. It's a period piece to be sure. It's post-hardcore/indie/emo when that stuff wasn't yet formulaic and hadn't become a saturated genre of a sound rather than songs. The band is a relative mystery. I've checked on the internet over the years looking for more projects by the members in hopes of hearing more of this sincere rock. In 2015 someone released a remixed/remastered version of this cd on their bandcamp page. While it's fun to hear this beloved album reexamined I vastly prefer the original form. There's no gloss, no sheen of cliche production. The album sounds like a well done rehearsal recording, everything is audible and seperate. There are some warts on the performances but that only makes it seem more valid and sincere. There is a bookworm-chic angle at play here that I love too, it's just pretentious enough to feel smart but never comes off as annoyingly vague or condescending. I was listening to this in my car as I drove our youngest son to my mother-in-law's home in Niagara Falls. It's a cold grey rainy morning and I was pounding my steering wheel to soulful drum fills and howling off-key along to the vocals. It was beautifully melancholic catharsis. It's a favorite of mine.
I checked amazon to see if there were any reviews or gossip about this out of print release. I was shocked to see that people are asking $150-$450 for this CD! It feels even a little more treasured now.
Definitely look this up on bandcamp.
