The Blue Nile: C or D?

I just can't take seriously people who don't love this band.
― Tim F, Wednesday, January 28, 2015 1:21 AM (12 hours ago)

I can understand folk not loving The Blue Nile, but like a proselytizer, feel that's only because they haven't seen The Light. They're a band that seems to pop up often as a "hey, you guys, I GET it now..." post. For emotion communicated in a voice, Buchanan's hard to match. Most of the quotable power comes from his delivery, rather than the complexity or uniqueness of the lyrics: "It's 3:30, and I'm thinking of you.", "All this talking, this talking, is only bravado."

Looking forward to his new album, supposed to be out 3rd Q 2015. New album coming from The Apartments, as well. I'd rate Peter Milton Walsh up with Buchanan as a favorite singer.

Buchanan's ability to shift the emotional pitch just through his delivery is effortless

Turrican wrote:
at first a feeling of "oh, this sounds well-produced" and then just as quickly I realise I've tuned out from it and it hasn't managed to keep my attention.

I can understand that - that's how I feel about Talk Talk! And I've got their stuff, too, but I just sort of like it and have never gone gaga for them like many others have.

Ah well, we all have our blind spots. ;-)

Looking forward to his new album, supposed to be out 3rd Q 2015.

flakdjfl;kj;alkjwlkjlksa

Oh, wow, I didn't realize Buchanan had a first solo album, never mind an upcoming second one. There's tomorrow's listening.

His solo album is really, really, really good

From a left-side comment on PB's official Facebook page.

"The current update for Paul's new album is that more than a dozen songs have been selected for recording, which will take place during January through to March, therefore, Newsroom Records would be looking for a commercial release for late June/early July 2015."

Couldn't find a homepage for Newsroom Records, which figures as this review mentions it's his own independent label.

Keep an eye out for a pre-order opportunity, as the _Mid-Air_ ltd. edition included a second disc of music (mainly instrumental versions, but also three non-album tracks), and in a nice package.

Listening to Mid Air right now. Dumbfoundedly.

moving tomorrow. to relax ive drank a couple beers and im listening to hats in between two big speakers smoking weed amongst a room full of boxes. just the best band.

I'm apparently in the minority when I say that I find PEACE AT LAST to be terrific. Yeah, the lyrics are a bit too heavy handed and
religious for my taste, but it's just as melodic and gorgeous to my ears as its 2 predecessors. A great album to take along for a night run.

Very nice hr interview of the band by Ken Sweeney.

iirc, and i probably said this in the 1975 thread, jessie ware is the person who told matt healy to listen to the blue nile

also thank you for sharing this!!!!

there's a blue nile app?????

zuh??

well now i have to listen to The 1975 more

So welcome. Such a personal favorite band, anyone still to discover them, hope they have a similar impact.

yeah "hats" is without a doubt a top 5 record for me now and i just discoverd it a couple of months ago

my best vinyl find was a $1 copy of Hats

well now i have to listen to The 1975 more

only parts of the new record and the more shapeless songs on their initial eps really recall the blue nile—in the case of the older songs it's v much by accident, but they share a romanticism with the blue nile, a deference to a bigger feeling both melodically and lyrically, the sense that they've made room in their music for this feeling, even as the 1975 specifically describe mostly sack-of-shit anarchic hedonistic permanent teenager stuff. see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3JJxS0gNkE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMzAHUFCXmQ

wow this interview is amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q8xoRcnDC4

Matthew Ryan and Neilson Hubbard's Strays Don't Sleep track, "For Blue Skies", reflects BN influence and does them credit. His talk of fandom here has me wanting to check out his other work. Have owned the SDS album for years, but never followed him up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XRhFaYEBig

Continuing the geek flag flying, Ken Sweeney the interviewer released two fine albums as Brian. He's also been name-dropped and appeared in "Father Ted".

yeah "hats" is without a doubt a top 5 record for me now and i just discoverd it a couple of months ago

― k3vin k., donderdag 15 december 2016 20:29 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Exactly the same here. Found out through here.

Thanks for sharing the interview Scampering!

it took me two years to fall in love with "sentimental man" but wow am i ever in love with "sentimental man"

my man

Peace at Last is phenomenally underrated. Perfect music for late night jogging

i think my homework over spring break is to get into the third album

i love the blue nile and have never gone back to the third album because i suspect it is forever tainted for me by the fact that my dad is a fan of the band and bought and played the hell out of that cd when it came out and i thought it was awful and corny as hell at the time - i was 12

i mean having a refrain on the opening song of an album that is

now that I've found
peace at last
tell me jesus
will it last

is a bit much

it's very dated in a way none of the other albums are

It's definitely a step down from the first two albums, but there's some really great stuff on Peace At Last. I think the main problem is that some of it sounds a bit unfinished. Holy Love sounds like a demo that might well be the worst song they ever did. God Bless You Kid is a great tune but it goes on two minutes longer than it should. Soon, Happiness, War Is Love and Family Life are my favourites. Family Life is kind of a blueprint for Mid Air. Overall, High is a much more satisfying listen.

family life is good

Peace At Last is one of my all-time fav albums. I've never yet been able to get into any of the other albums quite at the same level. I adore PaL from my heart and soul, and am regularly moved to tears any time I choose to listen to it anew. Its imperfections are just perfect to me. A "human(e)" album, that's how I would describe its appeal to me in a nutshell.

i love "broken loves" now

my fav song on high that's not "stay close"

um...."christmas"

https://soundcloud.com/rte-radio-1/in-search-of-the-blue-nile

have we talked about this? i thought we did somewhere. matty from the 1975 apparently makes an appearance

yeah, it was posted in this thread back in december. it's a great listen

This is wonderful, thank you for sharing Kevin K. Those first two records and the singles. . . nothing else really approaches that sound and feeling.

https://m.soundcloud.com/louise-burns/downtown-lights-1

am i reaching if i say AWATR-era buchanan has some jonathan richman in him?

i was doing a facebook music quiz thing and wanted to name a walk across the rooftops as my favorite post-punk record so

god i don't know how i never fell in love with the first album til last night but it is just so perfect in its own way

it's peerless.

It's one of those albums that paints a full-color mental picture with every song.

why is it rolling down on the young and foolish

Also subtly inventive: "Rags to Riches" sounds like pop produced by Steve Reich; "Automobile Noise" makes me think of David Sylvian or Kate Bush circa Hounds of Love.

Oh yeah it's quite experimental when you get over how fucking beautiful it is.

With latter Talk Talk, they were doing truly amazing stuff on another level from 99.9% of even the other best popular music, like the Blue Nile's first two records (and singles). But I always imagine Talk Talk might've been. . . a little self-serious, even if they totally earned it like few others. So it's amazing to hear the Blue Nile guys, who, while they're not falsely modest, don't give the impression that making this higher-plane music was anything but what basically came naturally. I mean, they suffered in some way for their music, I guess; but they just seem like regular people more or less--in that audio documentary, he speaks like areal pop artist in that he felt he was (and he was) expressing the universal, only belatedly recognizing the specificity of his individual experience, too. Just wonderful.