Blue is the fifth and final studio album from

Flashlight Brown Flashlight Brown were a Canadian punk rock band, originally from Guelph. They were formed in 1995. At the time, they were just known as Flashlight. The band's most known lineup consisted of vocalist/guitarist Matt Hughes, bassist/vocalist Fil Bucc ...

, released in March 2006 via iTunes through

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...

, and physically on October 31, 2006 through

Union 2112 Records Union Label Group is a record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was formed through the merger of the smaller labels Stomp Records, 2112 Records, and Tyrant Records. Mayday! Records was later created as a genre imprint. Stomp Records wa ...

(distributed by

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) in Canada.

Background and production

The album was intended to be their second release from

. Work began in 2005, with two songs posted to the band's website in November, "I'm A Human" and a cover of The English Beat's " Save It for Later", which were included in

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and Disney's Sky High respectively. The album was released in advance on iTunes in March 2006, with the physical release originally set for June 6. However, the band announced that they had left Hollywood Records due to "extreme differences of opinion", leading to the postponement. On October 30, 2006, the band posted on their

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account that they would release the album the next day,

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, in Canada, with a release in Japan following shortly after.

Reception

The album received mixed reviews. In a generally favourable review, ''Chart Attack'' magazine wrote, "It's the kind of pop-rock that isn't merely catchy, it's rewarding after repeated listens." ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

s review was more negative, saying, "While the energy and enthusiasm put forth on tracks such as "Sicker", "Get Out Of My Car" and "Party By Myself" is admirable, there’s a distinct stench of immaturity here that detracts from the overall product." In a staff review, Punknews.org gave the album a half star out of five stars, calling it "crappy pop punk", while Emotional Punk's review was more mixed, giving the album a 5/10 and stating that while the production is "incredibly slick", they thought the CD "really lacks any real direction."

Track listing

Personnel

Flashlight Brown *Matt Hughes – lead vocals, guitar *Fil Bucchino – bass guitar, vocals, keys, guitars *Tim Thomson – drums *Mike Conroy – guitar (tracks 1-10) Production *Dave Bassett – producer *Allison Hamamura - A&R *Bill Appleberry - piano (tracks 4 & 6), wurlitzer (track 7) *Errin Famillia - assistant engineer *David J. Holman - mixing *Andy VanDette - mastering

References

2006 albums {{2000s-punk-rock-album-stub