originally published: 11/12/2023
Photo by Herb Maximo
(RICHMOND, VA) -- Alternative pop rock band Broadside has released their fourth full-length album, Hotel Bleu. Featuring previous singles “Cruel,” “Bang,” and “Lucid,” Hotel Bleu is out now via SharpTone Records. Stream / purchase the album at https://bfan.link/hotel-bleu.
“Hotel Bleu is the natural progression from our previous records,” the band explains. “We’ve grown as men and as 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 favorite band.”
Broadside recently shared the album’s incredibly moving title track “Bleu”, a song that frontman Oliver Baxxter wrote for his fiancé following her breast cancer diagnosis. He shared: “A phone call changed our lives as the doctor on the other line said a prayer after he gave us the news that the tumor in her chest was breast cancer. We cried on the living room floor for two days after that until; eventually, we found the strength to call our family and friends. I couldn’t accept that someone who I’d lived and breathed with every day was about to endure one of the most demanding challenges of her life. ‘Bleu’ is a love letter to anyone who has ever experienced the sudden realization of such an unforgiving and cruel disease.”
Additionally, Baxxter highlighted a number of research organizations and support groups for those who have been affected by breast cancer, in hopes that they can find the help and comfort they need: Metavivor, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Breasties, and Liz’s Day.
When you check into a hotel, you immediately step into another mindset. It may not be home, but you can still rest, nonetheless. Without knowing what happened before or what will go down after, you add to the history of each room. In the morning, you leave and essentially return to reality. Broadside explore this phenomenon on Hotel Bleu [SHARPTONE]. After posting up north of 100 million cumulative streams and building a devout audience, the band deliver their boldest, brightest, and biggest body of work yet.
“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.”
Broadside have consistently captivated and enraptured audiences since their emergence in 2010. They’ve organically progressed over the course of albums such as Old Bones [2015], Paradise [2017], and Into The Raging Sea [2020]. Of the latter, UPSET proclaimed, “This collection of songs is Broadside laying it all out on the table,” while Hysteria predicted, “Their big break is only around the corner; with their next album sure to cement them as a pop rock headliner to look out for.” It also yielded fan favorites such as “Heavenly,” which generated 13.9 million Spotify streams and counting.
In order to bring Hotel Bleu to life, they collaborated with producers Andrew Wade [A Day To Remember, Neck Deep, Motionless In White] in Florida and Andrew Baylis [Jelly Roll, Sleeping With Sirens] in Nashville.
They initially paved the way for the album with “One Last Time” and “Cruel” [feat. Brian Butcher], piling up millions of streams. Opening up this world further, the single “Bang” [feat. Josh Roberts] glides along on an upbeat bounce powered up by a sunny guitar riff and disarmingly confessional chorus, “Bang bang, the reaper’s at my door, and I don’t want to run anymore.”
“The song has a great energy, and it’s a good time,” he says. “So many people have struggled over the last couple of years. I found myself not wanting to have conversations with anybody, ask for help, or even talk to my mom. So, the feeling is, ‘If depression or the reaper comes back, I’m going to let him kill me’. It’s a pop song in this moody and dark headspace where you’re embracing depression. There’s depth, but it’s catchy, which is what I’m trying to accomplish with the band.”
The album builds towards the tender exhale of the title track. Anchored by airy acoustic guitar, it culminates on a moment of stark honesty as he sighs, “Forever without you is a different shade of blue.”
In the end, you might not want to leave Hotel Bleu after you check in.
“I’d like for Broadside to be your favorite band after this record,” he leaves off. “We’re trying to grow into the band we always wanted to be. I feel like we did.”
Broadside is: Oliver Baxxter | Vocals; Domenic Reid | Guitar; and Patrick Diaz | Bass.
TOUR DATES
11/10 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
11/11 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
11/13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell
11/14 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
11/16 – St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
11/17 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
11/18 – Detroit, MI @ The Blind Pig
11/19 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s
11/21 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Café
11/22 – Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall
11/24 – Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
11/25 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
11/26 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
11/28 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
11/29 – Richmond, VA @ Canal Club
11/30 – Greensboro, NC @ Hangar 1819
12/1 – Orlando, FL @ Level 13 Event Center
12/2 – Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
12/4 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
12/7 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall
12/8 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
12/9 – San Antonio, TX @ Vibes Event Center
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