Blue Navy - Yours

Blue Navy

Yours
​self-released; 2020

3.7 out of 5

By Dan Weston

My college days about twenty years ago were a blast. I loved being away from home, made a lot of friends and had almost no responsibility. Unfortunately, not all college days are equal. The recent release Yours by Blue Navy explores the disillusionment, disconnection and rejection he felt while in college. It's also his best release to date with a notable boost in the production department.

The album is very dramatic and heavy. In fact the lyrics don’t seem to mention much about college. The lyrics are deep, broad, philosophical and poetic. They also revolve around the word “I” and I didn’t notice him using “You” that puts you in the driver's seat. It’s his pain, his hurdles and everything seems to revolve around his perspective. Some music invites you to share the pain but I didn’t really feel that way when listening to this album. Conversely, I felt like I was just watching from afar that this was his way of expressing his disillusionment with relationships and life itself.

There are nine songs and all of them have a similar quality starting with “The Garden of Roses.” The songs contain guitar with hall reverb, vocals with a reverb and well a lot of reverb. Reverbs used like this creates a nostalgic and reflective feeling and this is really what you get. The best part of the song is the slow build which is on the line between hope and melancholy.

“Another Autumn Lost'' sounds a lot like the title of the song. It’s full of reflection and nostalgia. “Slept” is a highlight. The vocals are well done and I would say this song felt warm and not as isolating. “In April” felt a tad more grounded and even the hooks felt a little more memorable.

“Every Heart Is a Hole” was a nice sounding vignette while “The Memory of Our Former Selves” had its moments as well. “Forever Burnt” is a twenty-plus-minute piece, “Untrue”is a soft piano ballad while “From the Balcony I Gazed Down Toward Your Green Smiling Eyes” is another very long song eclipsing the eleven-minute mark.

There is a part of me that wants to snap the artist out of the depressive, self-deprecating haze he paints from beginning to end. Although I really don't know how much is art versus reality it reminds me a bit of the way I used to feel about the world and it's a very isolating and scary way to face it. 

One thing I know for sure is that creating art can heal and also put into perspective the absurdity of life. At the very least I hope making this album helped him through the negatives feelings. That’s one reason why art is vital not only for the audience but for the artist themselves.

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