“Blue Star”, a recent single from Toronto electro-pop duo Prince Innocence (vocalist Talvi Faustmann and producer Josh McIntyre), was first heard in a 2016 short documentary feature by The Creator Class (a Canadian “community-powered channel designed for creators, by creators”). At the 2:45 mark, the couple is seen in a literal bedroom studio, with Faustmann singing the opening verse while lying down on a mattress (she eventually sits up). Their output nevertheless remains an arm’s length for the kind of hazy, withdrawn introspection you expect from the bedroom pop genre. Instead, McIntyre has focused on delivering sparkly, minimalist and pristine synth-pop in recent years, which usually serves as a foil to Faustmann’s brooding and existentialist musings.
The song was inspired by 10CC’s “I’m Not in Love”, and falls in line with previous singles like “Cold” and “Polished”. Against gleaming and crystal-clear productions that point towards the perfection of modern artifices, an even-toned lament about the lack of interpersonal warmth, sincerity, and intimacy insists on being heard. “Blue Star” nevertheless contains more of a duality (‘Sitting in your fading blue star/ You’re the one I both love and despise’); the iciness is thawing. After sighing her ‘last goodbyes’ at the futility of it all, Faustmann implores her soon-to-be ex-lover to be ‘good to me’ in an outro filled with echoes of what might have been.
