For Tracy Hyde's "Film Bleu" presents an elegant way for an indie-pop band to exist in a different realm. The group has been around since 2012, started by guitarist Azusa Suga merging twee-ish rock with strokes of electronica.
A few years after working independently — and following several lineup changes — the quintet has released a full-length via P-Vine. It's a more polished For Tracy Hyde, but the penchant for driving melodies and hooks is still there.
A handful of songs here first appeared as early as 2012, and the newer versions offer a sense of what has changed. Zippy numbers such as "First Regrets" and "Her Sarah Records Collection" have been tightened up, while new lead vocalist Eureka adds a airiness that was missing from the original versions sung by Suga. Eureka fits in well on the band's electronic-leaning cuts, most notably on the dreamy bounce of "Shady Lane Sherbert."
For all the new developments, "Film Bleu" works best when For Tracy Hyde plunges forward delivering synth-accented indie-pop like on "Favourite Blue," the album's most urgent — and ultimately most catchy — inclusion. Whatever changes the group makes, it seems like the core of what it does will remain intact.
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