Broadside // Hotel Bleu // Album Review

The highly anticipated fourth album from pop-punk trio Broadside is finally due out this week. ‘Hotel Bleu’ is the band’s first album in 3 years and the guys have clearly spent a lot of this time searching deep to create something new and exciting that takes them to the next level!

The band have described this album as each song being its own story all combined in the unique headspace that a hotel brings and this is something you can pick up on instantly. Each hit off the album has its own vibe and attitude from the upbeat “Dazed and Confused” to the harder hitters such as “One Last Time” and “What Have I Done”. The one thing they do all have in common though is the very clear style that the band have developed. For some bands you can tell instantly who they are and that’s exactly what happens when you listen to Broadside, their sound is instantly recognisable and this flows through the whole album. From the first track, “Stranger”, the upbeat energy that the band exudes is displayed loud and proud and this continues throughout. Even the slower hits such as “How to Love, How to Lie” carry a certain energy that shows the band’s passion for this record. To top it off the album also boasts 3 cameos with The Home Team’s Brian Butcher, Josh Roberts and Honey Revenge’s Devin Papadol. Each of these artists brings their own flavour to the songs while they can still very clearly be classed as Broadside hits. From start to finish, each song gets better and better pulling you in deeper creating a sense of excitement for what comes next.

“Hotel Bleu is the natural progression from our previous records,” the band shares. “We’ve grown as men and friends. We really focused on the live experience for some of these tracks whereas some might be better heard off alone somewhere. It’s a true record, thorough, the full experience. We are and have always been ready to be someone’s next favourite band.” “On tour, there’s nothing like a hotel,” notes Oliver. “Whether you have the most amazing or worst show of your life, the best part of the evening is getting a good night’s sleep once all of the endorphins run down. In terms of the concept for Hotel Bleu, every room is a different headspace. All of the songs are separate stories in this one place. They’re open for interpretation, but there’s a song for every type of person.”

Occasionally you can listen to an album and instantly know that this will be entered into your favourites and this is exactly what I found with ‘Hotel Bleu”. Every song works together to create a stand out album and is easily the band’s greatest release yet. The time spent writing and digging into their personal experiences has resulted in something truly special. Broadside are riding high and if you’ve not yet heard of them, where have you been??