‘Broken’ by Naomi in Blue is a Blue era Piece as Blue as The Best of Them

Artist: Naomi in Blue Single: Broken Genre: Dark-Pop, Synth Indie Rock, Art Rock Release Date: February 29th, 2024

When artists are in their blue era, they usually make their best music. Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue,” Joni Mitchell’s “Blue,” Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” (not blue in color, but certainly blue in content), Picasso’s blue era, which paved the way for these color-based meditations - the artists best work comes out of these times. There’s some deep connection between sadness and artistic expression, the bluer the better. (Weezer’s Blue album is omitted from this list, as fond as I am of ‘Only In Dreams.’)  After discovering Maggie Nelson’s ‘Bluets,’ Piñeda sought out to explore her own blue era, and it has all the makings of a blue era masterpiece - despair, tragedy, deeply personal lyrics, dark themes, it’s as beautiful as it is aching.

“I don’t want to be a broken woman” she sings from somewhere deep within. There’s no dressing up how she feels - no metaphors or overly illustrative language - but it doesn’t feel simple. Something about her delivery carries such a weight that it transports the listener into the space that she’s coming from as soon as the first lyrics pass. She repeats it - “I don’t want to be a broken woman” and gains new meaning with every lyric. “But there’s something not quite right with me,” “but I feel something differently,” “but you changed something here,” but you took a piece of me.” It’s a simple song. As most of the best are.

The instrumental is sparse. A dark pad that alternates between cadential chords, ethereal synths dotting the space between lyrics, industrial sounds echoing in the background, a drum beat that does nothing more than mark the time that passes. It’s off-putting in its lack of anything substantial. It crawls on to its climax which comes with distorted saw wave synths and a bass line, every piece weaving in and out like an organic substance.

“I don’t want to be a broken woman / but how dare you make your mother cry,” she sings to finish off the epic. Who is you? Who is she? It’s ambiguous enough for the listener to find new meaning in every listen, and it’s epic enough to be a film soundtrack, and sparse enough to accompany a lonely late night spiral. It’s a song that clearly means a lot to Piñeda, and there’s not denying its position in a blue era. It’s just as blue as the best of them.

It’s hard to do this track justice with words. Give it a listen and let it speak for itself, and do yourself a favor - keep an eye on Naomi in Blue as she continues this blue journey. Bluerney, even. Sorry.

Check her out on socials:

https://www.naomilarsson.com/naomi-in-blue
https://www.facebook.com/naominblue
https://twitter.com/naomilars
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aZwFQiRnYncKEV27x0CQd
https://soundcloud.com/user-239100162
https://naomiinblue.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaONX6X80LpospcZliZKKMQ
https://www.instagram.com/naomiinblue/

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“Broken” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating DA DA DA - Best New Music

We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.

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