- On the cover of Tenderness, Alex Cowan and Raphaelle Standell-Preston sit on a couch, faces turned towards their phones and away from each other. It's a reference to modern communication as well as the dissolving long-distance relationship that helped inspire Blue Hawaii's new album. But while Tenderness's artwork hints at separation, the Canadian duo sound more intertwined than ever before, turning the ethereal electronica of their last record into tighter, better pop music.
After Cowan and Standell-Preston released and toured their excellent second LP, Untogether, they decided to grow separately. Standell-Preston turned her attention to the indie of her band, Braids, while Cowan immersed himself in dance music culture, hopping around cities like Berlin and London and embarking on a DJ career. By the time Braids released their 2015 album, Deep In The Iris, and Cowan, as Agor, dropped a compilation of club edits, it seemed like Blue Hawaii was a distant memory. With Tenderness, the Canadian duo have brought what they've learned separately to make Blue Hawaii a stronger project.
Where Untogether was sometimes fogged by effects, Tenderness is notably crisp. "No One Like You" builds slowly and effortlessly, with Standell-Preston tumbling through every verse and coming up stronger each time, bolstered by splashy string arrangements from Owen Pallett. Each song on the album's impressive opening run has a radio-friendly hook, and sparkles with the polish of late '90s electronic pop, the kind once dominated by producers like William Orbit and Mark "Spike" Stent. (The gossamer house beat that underpins "Versus Game" brings to mind Madonna's "Nothing Really Matters.")
Standell-Preston's lyrics are as razor-sharp as the music. The album plots a cycle of grief, loneliness and acceptance in an easy-to-follow arc, focused around a long-distance relationship that existed mostly via smartphone. (Phone-sourced recordings feature prominently in between songs.) Throughout Tenderness, Standell-Preston wrestles with the pain of loving someone you know isn't good for you, wonders if the ex she doesn't want might still want her, ponders her romantic future—"I wonder if I'd have a still life? I wonder if I'd ever be a good wife," she sings on "Blossoming From Your Shy"—and ultimately comes out the other side on her own, and all the better for it. ("At last / I am thankful for you saying no to me," she quips on "Tenderness.") Good pop music is succinct, and Standell-Preston gets her message across with a mixture of clever turns, rarely sounding laboured or overthought.
In learning how to write great pop songs, the duo have leaned less on club music. There are danceable beats all over Tenderness, but they're rarely the focal point. The chopped vocals and looping of Untogether are nowhere to be found here. As a result, Blue Hawaii's shimmering electronic pop feels even more immediate. Their last album was exciting because of how it combined contemporary dance music with real feeling and warmth. Tenderness is exciting because of how simple and distilled it is, and how memorable its songs are even after just one or two listens. In an era where feelings and relationships are mediated through distance and technology, Blue Hawaii have found a way to connect more directly than ever.
Tracklist01. Free At Last
02. No One Like You
03. Pregame
04. Versus Game
05. Prepare For Flight
06. Younger Hurt
07. Strummin
08. Make Love Stay
09. Big News
10. Blossoming From Your Story
11. Searching For You
12. Do You Need Me
13. Tenderness
14. Giggles
15. Far Away Soon