Bluetile Lounge is an Australian

slowcore Slowcore is a subgenre of alternative rock and indie rock. The music of slowcore artists is generally characterized by bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies, slower tempos and minimalist arrangements. Slowcore is often used interchangeably with the t ...

band, formed in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia in 1991. After releasing their debut full-length album, ''Lowercase'', in 1995, Bluetile Lounge signed to the American independent label

Smells Like Records Smells Like Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey, formed by Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley in 1993. Groups that have recorded under the label include Blonde Redhead, Cat Power, The Raincoats, and The Rondelles. ...

, which released the band's second LP, ''Half-Cut'', in 1998. Attracting little attention in their home city, Bluetile Lounge gained a cult following overseas, partly due to acclaim from international acts such as Low and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

. Since entering hiatus in 1998, Bluetile Lounge's profile continued to grow through websites such as

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and

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, and their two albums have been ranked among the best of the slowcore genre.Hazel, Andy (17 February 2015)
"Lost Albums: Bluetile Lounge - lowercase"
Double J. Retrieved 7 August 2018. The band reformed in 2021. Following the addition of their back-catalog to streaming services that same year, both original LPs were reissued in 2022.

History

Bluetile Lounge formed in

, Western Australia in 1991. One of the band's early songs, "Concrete/Tunnels", featured on a compilation tape released by Guy Blackman's

Chapter Music Chapter Music is one of Australia's longest-running independent record labels. Chapter Music has worked with a broad range of mostly Australian artists, in genres such as rock and roll, indie pop, post punk, country and western and folk. Between ...

label. Blackman went on to become Bluetile Lounge's first producer. In 1995, Bluetile Lounge recorded their debut album, ''Lowercase'', in a

Masonic Hall A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

in the port city of

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, south of Perth. The band chose the recording location for its acoustics, giving the album a "big, roomy natural sound."

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, frontman of American band Low, encouraged Jason Reynolds of Australia's Summershine Records to release the album.

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and

Shock Records Shock Records (now part of Shock Entertainment) is an Australian independent record label. History The three founding members had all previously worked in music retail or distribution: Williams for a Melbourne distribution company called "Musi ...

distributed ''Lowercase'' in the United States and Australia respectively. Andy Hazel of Double J said the album's songs "don’t so much begin and end as appear, glitter, linger and recede. At times brittle and delicately constructed, there is a muscularity and sense of purpose that lulls and stuns." At the insistence of

, Bluetile Lounge played the Perth leg of the 1996 Summersault music festival. In 1998, the band returned to the Fremantle Masonic Hall to record their sophomore LP, ''Half Cut''. Sonic Youth's

Steve Shelley Steven Jay Shelley (born June 23, 1962) is an American drummer. He is best known as the longtime drummer of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, for whom he played from 1985 until their 2011 disbandment. Biography Shelley was born in Midland, ...

released the album on his label

. Reviewing the album for ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'',

Lois Maffeo Lois Maffeo (professionally known for much of her career as Lois) is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era Olymp ...

praised the band's compositions and "crystalline" sound, as well as their ability to maintain a "clear mental union" while playing at a "glacial" pace. Bluetile Lounge entered a 23-year hiatus in 1998. In 2017, in ranking ''Lowercase'' as the fifth best slowcore album, Anthony Carew of

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called it "a five-song, 45-minute study in isolationism, in a persistent loneliness leaving one feeling utterly unmoored; unsurprising sentiments for a band from Perth, the world's most isolated major city".

Reformation and reissues

In April 2021, Bluetile Lounge released a new demo track titled "Last Men" on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

. The band also announced plans on their Facebook page for a vinyl reissue of ''Lowercase'', along with the release of additional new recordings. Adelaide-based Hobbledehoy Record Co. oversaw the addition of the Bluetile Lounge discography to streaming services in July 2021, and announced the vinyl reissues of both ''Lowercase'' and ''Half Cut'' in June 2022, with new artwork by band member Howard Healy. On June 17 of 2022, the band announced via their Facebook page that a new single, titled ''Easterly,'' was available via streaming services.

Members

* Daniel Erickson – vocals, guitar, piano * Howard Healy – vocals, guitar, bass * Gabrielle Cotton – guitar, piano, vocals * Alexander Stevens – percussion

Discography

Albums

Singles

Compilations

* 2002: ''Double Figures: Ten Years Of Chapter Music'' (

) - track "Concrete/Tunnels"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bluetile Lounge Musical groups from Perth, Western Australia Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Australian rock music groups Sadcore and slowcore groups