Exploring the Complexities of Love and Life in Hotel Bleu
Written and photos by Mary Perez
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
A strong wind blows in over the waters, howling against a window that looks upon a half-obstructed moon. The room is lit by fluorescent lights that flicker with the slightest of touches, and the paint chips at its edges, weathered by the effects of time. You can hear the footsteps of somebody above your head, echoed in the otherwise silent room. In the hallways, a phone rings and is quickly picked up by its owner, as they mutter a shaky response to the caller. As you settle into a bed camouflaged in snow-colored sheets, your bag slumps helplessly against the wall, and your luggage nestles in a corner, housing a piece of your life. So begins your stay at Hotel Bleu, an oasis within life’s chaos that will house you for the next 35 minutes.
Hotel Bleu is the fourth studio album by alternative rock band Broadside, their latest release since 2020’s Into the Raging Sea. The Orlando-based trio, consisting of vocalist Oliver Baxxter, bassist Patrick Diaz, and guitarist Domenic Reid, are at their very best with their latest release, fusing infectious melodies with candid lyricism to create songs that represent the band’s immense growth between records. The new songs' familiarity perfectly transitions through their discography, intertwined with intimate confessions and hints of past works while maintaining a refreshing take on the band’s captivating sound.
With its explosive and soaring chorus, “Stranger” kicks off Broadside’s album with a punch to the gut. Leading in with a synth-driven introduction, Baxxter sings out that he feels “like a stranger, living someone else’s life,” admitting that he’s willing to keep up the facade if it makes the other person happy. No strangers to exploring identity in their songs, the band reveals an uneasiness in the uncertainty, expressing a loneliness and dissonance in this character that they’ve created for another. One of the highlights of the album comes within this bridge, led by Diaz’s rousing chants that will surely be cathartic to scream live.
If you’re into catchy pop rock reminiscent of The Band CAMINO’s guitar-driven melodies, look no further, as “Dazed & Confused” will be your latest earworm. Detailing a person who may be intoxicatingly toxic, the lyrics tell the tale of somebody who you’d absolutely let ruin your life, regardless of how you end up in the end. It’s that person who you’re willing to ignore every bad trait of because they’re your “favorite kind of red flag,” and that’s something that you’ll accept. After watching them perform this song on their current tour with This Wild Life, I can safely say that it’s bound to be a new fan-favorite live.
“Don’t Lose Faith” pleads for a lover to keep believing in you, even when you are not at your best. Nudged along by the repetition of the title, the song builds into a chanted bridge and an electrifying guitar solo, explaining the narrator’s engrossment with the other person, “You are the air I breathe/The scent of you still on my sheets.” They’re hoping and praying that this individual will keep their trust and hold on for as long as possible, “I'm tongue-tied on my knees/I'm praying you don't give up on me.” A winding guitar whines in the background, as the final chorus bursts with more passion than ever.
‘Cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel…’ echoes in your ears once you hit play on the fourth track of the album, aptly titled “Cruel.” The first feature introduced on a Broadside song, the band called upon Brian Butcher from The Home Team to sing part of the second verse. The two bands toured together last spring, and they have since become good friends, so who better than the rising punk band’s frontman to hop on your newest track? As the title reverberates in the chorus, it seemingly becomes heavier with each haunting note. A very fitting musing on the world’s viciousness, Butcher’s feature contrasts well with Baxxter’s signature rawer vocals.
“Bang” is explosive and anthemic, which features Joshua Roberts of Magnolia Park. The reaper is an all-too-familiar character in the Broadside universe, often utilized to symbolize a foreboding or vulnerability that troubles the speaker. Yet again, the reaper materializes in the narrator’s fragile state, pounding on their door with an urgency that can never mean well. However, this is no longer a fear but nearly welcomed, as Baxxter determines, “The reaper's at my door/And I don't wanna run/I don't wanna run anymore.” In confronting the reaper and finally facing the truth, there is a liberation in accepting defeat.
A groovy bassline guides us through “How to Love, How to Lie,” the sixth song on the record. One of the lines that stood out to me on first listen was “It's not so simple when your head's underwater/Drowning in the silence while you search for nirvana,” which felt like a nod to their previous works (Into the Raging Sea and Paradise) and the ongoing exploration of that quest for a utopia. The narrator asks for reassurance while acknowledging their own shortcomings, questioning their lover, “Don't you think I'm pretty, baby?”
If there were ever a good time to bring in several features for an album, it’s for Hotel Bleu, and Broadside truly nailed it with their choices. Track seven, “Lucid,” finds the band collaborating with Devin Papadol of Honey Revenge, their first female feature in their discography. The bridge is led by dreamy synths and eruptive horns, transporting us into this surreal storyline. Although more subdued than the first two singles, it holds its own with the two perspectives and ethereal sound.
“Feel Love” brings a groovy side to their lovesick discography, as they recognize their loved ones’ ongoing commitment and support. Even when the reaper may be at their door, there’s their “angel” keeping them safe and giving them love when they need it most. No matter where they are, they are always entranced by their significant others and can always rely on them to pull them back to reality. Love transformed them and made their lives better, “Been so self-deprecating/In a daze, 'til you came along.” It’s a sweet song backed by a funky melody and a highlight from the album.
It’s difficult approaching a new era for any artist; there’s no telling what people will expect from you and if they’ll like the music you’ve worked so hard on. “One Last Time” was fans’ first introduction to #BRO4DSIDE, and it was the perfect mixture of the band’s energetic sound with their truthful writing. The bridge rocks listeners in a push-and-pull, as the band confesses that the relationship can be rather cyclical, “Back and forth 'til we both feel sick/But I never get sick of it.” It bounces and explodes with every chorus, leaving everyone to wonder if that final instance would change anything. Some of my favorite memories from my past few Broadside shows have been screaming along to this song with so many fans, pointing our fingers aggressively as the final chorus booms with power.
Broadside’s origins lie within the pop punk scene, but as the band shifted more into alternative rock, they never left behind those hard-hitting, pit-opening songs that introduced them to so many fans. “What Have I Done” is yet another special song for the band, as they have shared that the song is an ode to their fans. In a Tweet written by Baxxter this morning, he shares, “The entirety of ‘What Have I Done?’ is about any person who has ever watched us play, told their friends about us and believed in us. I wanted to write a song for the people upholding our dreams and say thank you.” Even when all hope seems lost, their fans will always be supporting them and their endeavors, and the band feels forever grateful for the people who have stuck by them all this time.
Broadside have always concluded each of their records on a softer note: Old Bones’ introspective “A Light in the Dark,” Paradise’s lovesick ballad “I Love You, I Love You. It’s Disgusting,” and Into the Raging Sea’s heartbreaking “Burning at Both Ends.” However, Hotel Bleu’s final song is unlike anything Broadside has ever written. When I first received notice of the new Broadside album, the number one thing I noticed was the description of “Bleu.” Written about Baxxter’s fiancée following her breast cancer diagnosis, the frontman shared that the song “is a love letter to anyone who has ever experienced the sudden realization of such an unforgiving and cruel disease.” Devastatingly beautiful, the last single from the record is one of the most vulnerable and remarkable songs they have created, offering another perspective on the fragility of life and how everything can change within seconds. “Forever without you’s a different shade of blue” are the final words on the album, leaving listeners with one last musing.
It wouldn’t be a real Broadside album without a few references to water, and it wouldn’t be a Broadside review by me if I didn’t try to discuss it. Their fans are the bright spot in their lives when it’s gloomy out, as noted in “What Have I Done,” ‘Think about you every time it rains/Wash my tears away.” Whereas the rain was previously dreaded, it now becomes a symbol of reflection. One of the most noteworthy mentions stems from the chorus of “Bleu,” as Baxxter sings, ‘If I wake up next to the ocean/I'd feel you here for a moment.” Water often appears as a chaotic force within Broadside songs, manifesting as a raging sea, a feeling of drowning, or even a misery in being caught in rain. However, in “Bleu,” the ocean is a comforting presence, despite its own lawlessness and unpredictability. It is the omnipresent power that remains throughout the good and bad, and it ties together so many of the stories told throughout their discography.
One of my other favorite motifs in Broadside’s discography is their constant references to the sun and moon. From the start of Hotel Bleu, the polarity of the sun and moon are illuminated in the storylines, as the band notes “I've been thinking that maybe the sun/Doesn't cover the places that I tend to roam.” For longtime fans of Broadside, the sun has popped up quite a few times throughout their music, ranging from “Old Bones” (Was I ready/To turn my back and run/Into the setting sun?) to “Hidden Colors” (A rising sun at daybreak feels worthless) to “The Setting Sun” (Told myself I could run/Away from the setting sun”). Representing joy and honesty, the sun is woven throughout so many songs, as the band often finds themselves living in the darkness of night.
The darkness becomes another character in their world, hiding them from the sunlight and keeping them within their own minds. Nighttime is a time of confession, breaking down the walls they’ve built. They lie awake at night, reflecting on their flaws and challenges. Although nights are plagued by anxieties and self-loathing, Broadside finds solace in leaning on the people they love and finding that love is the way out of this chaos, noting that their fans have helped them when they’ve “spent too many nights trying to make it out alive” (What Have I Done). A callback to “The Raging Sea” and their struggles to keep going, they previously wrestled with their futures, “Can I make it out? Will I make it out?/Is there any point? What's the fucking point,” yet they now find that there is a reason they’ve stuck around this long. It’s this authenticity that delivers Broadside’s most heartfelt confessions and makes the darkness less frightening.
The world has been sleeping on Broadside for far too long, and this album is yet another indication of the band’s great potential to be a massive name within the scene. Even though many hardcore pop punk fans still long for Old Bones-esque Broadside, they have continued to grow and evolve over the years, producing work that is bigger and better than their previous. This is not a band scared to stray from the familiar; this is a band willing to take creative risks and explore new avenues to outdo themselves with every release. Above all, they wear their hearts on their sleeves, weaving intimate stories within strikingly dynamic melodies. This is the album that will skyrocket Broadside to new levels, and I’m glad we’re along for the ride.