Single Review: Shades of Blue

Personal Igloo is the solo project of Auckland based song writer/producer, Hamish Nixon.
Following the release of the début EP Phone-in Serotonin, Shades of Blue takes on a new-found energy on top of Nixon’s signature laid-back delivery. It dabbles in alternative rock elements over a smooth bedroom pop influenced base.

Shades of Blue explores the feelings of burnout and disenchantment that come with following a dream, softening those anxieties against a heady swirl of spacey stabs. It explores the feelings of doubt and temptations to move to a different path.

The opening bars play with tone and accents in a way that conjures the feeling of trying to tread water as it laps over your face and eyes. The lyrics pivot around that idea of swimming fruitlessly in the same spot, making no ground.

Nixon recognizes the need for “company and a point of view”, somebody to confide in and get a morale boost from. The song follows the familiar arc of chilling out with mates and getting some distance from the pressure, ultimately coming back to a place of resolve to keep following the buzz that started you on the path in the first place.
The standout lyric describing this ritual is the endearing “let’s make plans with contraband”.

That sentiment gives way to a lead break reminiscent of Simply Red that feels like the end of struggling in an uphill swim and more like floating on your back with a gentle current. The stress is relieved and the song falls into its own gentle jam which grooves us on out through the last chorus.

Shades of Blue is a deceptively laid back tune that deals with the tension that comes from a lack of traction in life’s endeavours. The payoff is a release of that tension, much like a good shoulder rub. Keep an eye out for Personal Igloo‘s exciting schedule of upcoming live shows.