# Blue Film (album)
**Blue Film** is the debut album by the Los Angeles-based musician Lo-Fang, the alias of Matthew Hemerlein, released on the label 4AD in February 2014. Written and recorded while Hemerlein traveled between Maryland, Nashville, Asia, and Europe, the album blends classical instrumentation, R&B, electronic music, folk, and pop into what Apple Music describes as a sparse brand of existential art-song.[1](https://www.metacritic.com/music/blue-film/lo-fang) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/blue-film/1147088543)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Lo-Fang, the alias of Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist Matthew Hemerlein[1](https://www.metacritic.com/music/blue-film/lo-fang) |
| Release | 4AD, February 24, 2014; 12 songs, 42 minutes[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/blue-film/1147088543) |
| Recording | Written during travels in Maryland, Nashville, Cambodia, London, and elsewhere; completed at Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, with producer Francois Tetaz[3](https://boomkat.com/products/blue-film-60a04522-aa88-43c7-a69f-0256aea84960) |
| Instrumentation | Hemerlein performed all instrumentation, including violin, cello, upright and electric bass, piano, guitar, banjo, and laptop[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lo-fang-mn0003169189) |
| Covers | "Boris" (originally by the duo BOY) and "You're the One That I Want" from *Grease*[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-film-mw0002602839) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 64 on Metacritic from 11 critic reviews (4 positive, 7 mixed, 0 negative)[1](https://www.metacritic.com/music/blue-film/lo-fang) |
| Chart peak | Number 15 on the UK Indie Albums Top 20 in December 2014[6](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2014/2014-12-06-Music%20Week.pdf) |
## Background and recording
Matthew Hemerlein is a classically trained musician who plays violin, cello, bass, piano, and guitar.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/blue-film/1147088543) He conceived *Blue Film* in several locations, including Maryland, Tennessee, Los Angeles, Cambodia, and England, and performed all of the instrumentation himself.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lo-fang-mn0003169189) Boomkat's product description places the writing in settings ranging from a farmhouse in Maryland to a hotel in Cambodia to studios in London and Nashville, with the album completed at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles with the award-winning producer Francois Tetaz.[3](https://boomkat.com/products/blue-film-60a04522-aa88-43c7-a69f-0256aea84960)
Before the album, Hemerlein had released the 2012 EP *In and Out of Weeks* under an earlier project name, and the album expands on Lo-Fang's earlier singles, several of which remain highlights of the record.[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-film-mw0002602839)
## Music
AllMusic's reviewer Heather Phares describes the album as inspired by a mixtape, with a free-flowing blend of R&B, synth pop, orchestral, and folk music, sometimes within the same song.[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-film-mw0002602839) The title track pairs ukulele strings, orchestral synths, and automated handclaps with no other discernible rhythm beneath Hemerlein's vocals.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/blue-film/1147088543) "Look Away" opens the album and shifts from sleek to earthy to refined, while "#88" is a symphonic piece running nearly seven minutes that builds from sparse ukulele licks to falsetto and ascending synth lines.[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-film-mw0002602839) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/blue-film/1147088543)
Two covers anchor the album's darker register. Lo-Fang's version of "Boris," first recorded by the female singer/songwriter duo BOY, puts predatory come-ons in a male voice, which AllMusic argues blurs the line between flirting and harassment more chillingly than the original.[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-film-mw0002602839) The other cover is a deliberately restrained take on "[You're the One That I Want](https://www.edgepedia.org/youre-the-one-that-i-want)" from *Grease*, with Hemerlein performing both of the original duet's parts.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/blue-film/1147088543)
## Reception
The album scored 64 on Metacritic, labeled generally favorable, based on 11 critic reviews with no negative scores.[1](https://www.metacritic.com/music/blue-film/lo-fang) AllMusic rated it 80 and called it "an often unforgettable introduction"; PopMatters praised its mix of glitchy low-beat techno, classical, and ambient styles; Pitchfork scored it 51 and criticized the lyrics; DIY Magazine gave it 40 and called it more a promise of what was to come than a thrilling introduction.[1](https://www.metacritic.com/music/blue-film/lo-fang) NME gave it a 6, writing that the voice of Matthew Hemerlein is the album's star and that the second half is "one epic swoon after another," while cautioning that the heartstring-tugging becomes wearing and calling the *Grease* cover portentous.[7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2014/NME-2014-02-22.pdf) [sic] Magazine scored it 5/10, singling out "Animal Urges" and "Confusing Happiness" as best tracks.[8](https://www.sicmagazine.net/7159/lo-fang-blue-film/) Under the Radar wrote that Lo-Fang "tries to do too much" on the debut.[9](https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/category/music/P3844)
Commercially, the album entered the UK Indie Albums Top 20 at number 15 in the chart week of early December 2014, on 4AD with XL Beggars distribution.[6](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2014/2014-12-06-Music%20Week.pdf) Ahead of release, *Variance* named it one of its 40 albums to watch for 2014 and reported that Lorde had invited Hemerlein on her upcoming spring tour after his sounds inspired her.[10](https://variancemagazine.com/images/winter14.pdf)
## Other albums titled Blue Film
The title has been used by several other recordings. The Los Angeles art-punk quartet The Tissues released *Blue Film* on January 9, 2020, a 10-song, 27-minute album recorded at Hububaloo in [Fullerton, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/fullerton-california), and pressed in a limited run of 300 milky-clear vinyl copies.[11](https://thetissues.bandcamp.com/album/blue-film) The Japanese artist DALIAN released an album titled *Blue Film* on the label Bell the Cat Disc on August 20, 2003.[12](https://musicbrainz.org/release/df02cbaa-4837-4bfe-9657-2c682c71a4e9/cover-art) A database entry also lists a *Blue Film* album by [Mandragora](https://www.edgepedia.org/mandragora) with 17 tracks running 47 minutes 49 seconds.[13](https://www.tagtuner.com/music/albums/BLUE-FILM/) Separately, "Blue Film" is a 1988 song by the Japanese band Der Zibet, later remastered in 2024,[14](https://music.amazon.com/tracks/B0D5CHTD82) and *BLUE film* is a 2015 film download by the audiovisual project iamamiwhoami.[15](https://www.twimc.se/products/blue-film-island)
## References
1. [Blue Film by Lo-Fang, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/blue-film/lo-fang)
2. [Blue Film, Album by Lo-Fang, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/blue-film/1147088543)
3. [Lo-Fang, Blue Film, Boomkat](https://boomkat.com/products/blue-film-60a04522-aa88-43c7-a69f-0256aea84960)
4. [Lo-Fang Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lo-fang-mn0003169189)
5. [Lo-Fang: Blue Film Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-film-mw0002602839)
6. [Music Week, Charts Indies Week 48 (December 2014)](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2014/2014-12-06-Music%20Week.pdf)
7. [NME Magazine, 22 February 2014](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2014/NME-2014-02-22.pdf)
8. [Lo-Fang, Blue Film, [sic] Magazine](https://www.sicmagazine.net/7159/lo-fang-blue-film/)
9. [Under the Radar, Reviews](https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/category/music/P3844)
10. [Variance Magazine, Winter 2014](https://variancemagazine.com/images/winter14.pdf)
11. [Blue Film, by The Tissues, Bandcamp](https://thetissues.bandcamp.com/album/blue-film)
12. [Release "Blue Film" by DALIAN, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/df02cbaa-4837-4bfe-9657-2c682c71a4e9/cover-art)
13. [BLUE FILM Music Albums, Music Database](https://www.tagtuner.com/music/albums/BLUE-FILM/)
14. [Blue Film (2024 Remaster), Der Zibet, Amazon Music](https://music.amazon.com/tracks/B0D5CHTD82)
15. [iamamiwhoami, BLUE film (download), To whom it may concern.](https://www.twimc.se/products/blue-film-island)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums › Studio albums of the 2010s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license