BLEU

Four

bleutopia.com

Bleu—also known as singer, songwriter and instrumentalist William James McAuley III—boasts a power-pop sound that embraces rousing anthems, outsized arrangements and the kind of insistent singalongs that might give the E Street Band a run for their money. After taking honors in Boston’s annual Battle of the Bands competition, McAuley joined L.E.O., a group that shared members with Chicago, Hanson and Jellyfish while paying homage to, naturally, ELO. His on-the-job training has served him well.

Fans won over by McAuley’s three earlier albums under the Bleu banner were sufficiently inspired to contribute $40,000 to finance Four’s production. Happily, they got a good return on their investment. Boasting a wealth of hooks and retro references, Four is the work of an artist who relishes his roots. “I was born in Green Bay/Raised in VA/Now I live in L.A. … but if you ask me where I’m from/Boston!” he proclaims on the barnstorming “B.O.S.T.O.N.”

Elsewhere, McAuley carefully mines his influences, from Sam Cooke and Van Morrison to Paul McCartney and—wouldn’t you know it—ELO. But he’s best when he’s expressing his own quirky personality on “Evil Twin” and the breathless “I’ll Know It When I See It.” Ultimately, it’s these various shades of Bleu that make Four all the more fascinating.

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