![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/fadedblue.jpg\")
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by Kaelen Bell<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the most affecting scenes in last year\u2019s critical darling <\/span>Call Me by Your Name<\/span><\/i> is of a heartsick lover, waiting and awash in blue. The scene follows in the footsteps of Joni Mitchell\u2019s <\/span>Blue <\/span><\/i>and Maggie Nelson\u2019s <\/span>Bluets<\/span><\/i> \u2013 art that recognizes the cathartics and heartsick mysteries of blue. Add Lev Snowe\u2019s <\/span>Faded Blue<\/span><\/i> to the list. <\/span><\/p>\n The five track collection, inspired by Snowe\u2019s travels across the Canadian Shield, is a twinkling and dreamy world unto itself, all dancing shadows and sun dappled highway. <\/span><\/p>\n Faded Blue <\/span><\/i>is cohesive nearly to a fault, and the album floats by quickly with few major distinctions between tracks. However, on a release this short, dedication to a particular mood and style helps give a better idea of who an artist truly is. It allows Snowe to more thoroughly explore the multitudes of blues and purples that he teases from his slick synths and watery guitar. <\/span><\/p>\n Though it plays with familiar tools, <\/span>Faded Blue<\/span><\/i> has enough strong hooks and solid grooves to keep the listener\u2019s attention, though a longer record would almost certainly require some experimentation beyond the twinkling 80s pop sound that Snowe has so clearly mastered. <\/span><\/p>\n A mix of programmed drums and live percussion make up the album\u2019s backbone, sometimes with both used on the same song, as on the final minute of \u201cCould Be\u201d when the guitar drops away and a programmed kick drum and sighing synths send the song drifting into the night. <\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps the best example of Snowe\u2019s arranging skills (besides six-minute highlight \u201cDream Away the Night\u201d) is the album\u2019s title track. There\u2019s a darkness to the song\u2019s slippery, blooming arrangement that paints a deeper shade of blue than what\u2019s found on the rest of the album, with wobbling bass and slick, neon guitar.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s an album like a healing bruise – a tender black and blue, forever shifting.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Kaelen Bell One of the most affecting scenes in last year\u2019s critical darling Call Me by Your Name is of a heartsick lover, waiting and awash in blue. The scene follows in the footsteps of Joni Mitchell\u2019s Blue and Maggie Nelson\u2019s Bluets \u2013 art that recognizes the cathartics and heartsick mysteries of blue. Add […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1304,329,1388,1390,1196,454,1387,796,806,1389,988],"class_list":["post-11254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-80s","tag-experimental","tag-faded-blue","tag-guitar-pop","tag-indie-pop","tag-indie-rock","tag-lev-snowe","tag-review","tag-rock","tag-synth-pop","tag-the-smiths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11256,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11254\/revisions\/11256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}