Limited CD and 12-inch vinyl LP editions of Blue, as well as a CD and LP bundle, were made exclusively available via To whom it may concern.'s official online shop on 10 November 2014. All three editions include a 48-page book with lyrics and the Blue photo series. An exclusive digital edition of the album, titled Blue Island, was released on 10 November 2014, taking the form of a website. Created by To whom it may concern. in collaboration with creators of the iamamiwhoami fansite iambountyfan, the Blue Island website and community home allows fans to either download or stream all parts of the album in high resolution, as well as share the album's content with other users. A visitors' pass was also made available, giving fans streaming access only. On 17 February 2015, an accompanying film premiered on Vimeo and on To whom it may concern.'s website, including the 10 visual episodes released throughout 2014, along with new material connecting the episodes, as well as a hidden bonus episode, "Dive". On the same day, the film was released on DVD as part of limited-edition bundles, along with the album on either CD or LP, or both.
Critical reception
Blue received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 73, based on 10 reviews. Evan Sawdey of PopMatters opined that Blue "isn't only the most satisfying record in the collective's discography; it's also one of the best albums released this year." Heather Phares of AllMusic concluded, "In its own way, this album might be Lee and Björklund's most balanced and unified work yet; it's certainly a confident journey into uncharted waters for the duo." Leonie Cooper of NME wrote, "At times it feels like Lee has overdosed on the Drive soundtrack. Ultimately though, sensitivity outweighs '80s cliché." Alex Jeffery of musicOMH viewed that "while Blues electropop soundscapes are hardly a great move forwards from their first two projects, there are genuinely majestic emotional moments to savour here." El Hunt of DIY noted that "BLUEs watery explorations demonstrate an intriguing new facet to the project, but it might well come at the expense of the fearsome impact that earlier releases packed in the shedload." Pitchforks Sasha Geffen expressed that the album "encloses in a space where she's far too safe", describing the song "Thin" as "a rare moment of intrigue on an album that's generous in its beauty while leaving little to wonder about, a sky that never rains." Miriam Wallbaum of Nothing but Hope and Passion praised Blue as "an elaborated total work of art, consisting of strong videos and harmonious pop-melodies", but suggested that "the music doesn't work on its own: leaving out the visuality, the record is only another ordinary standard pop album." Chris Watkeys of Loud and Quiet concurred, commenting on how "he visual aspect of the project is so superbly expressive that it feels churlish to denounce something so brave, ambitious, and visually compelling, but the music does need tostand up by itself, and it only occasionally does so". At Uncut, Graeme Thomson felt that "between their 2012 debut, Kin, and their latest, Blue, the Stockholm duo have lost some of their Fever Ray-like ability to surprise and unsettle. Stripped of the visual element, what remains here is sparkling Nordic synth-pop, uplifting and accessible, but increasingly conventional."
Track listing
All lyrics written by Jonna Lee; all tracks written by Lee and Claes Björklund. Notes
All track titles are stylised in lowercase letters.
