Hello, Blue Roses could be classified as a side project
of Destroyer, if a years-long romantic relationship counted as a side project,
and if Destroyer mastermind Dan Bejar didn't maintain enough other side projects
to muddle the question of what's in the middle to begin with. As it is, Hello,
Blue Roses foregrounds Sydney Vermont, mostly as a fan of Vashti Bunyan and
Kate Bush: Her voice, beautiful at a whisper but wan when she tries to wail,
takes the lead in songs about romantic shadows and the teasing prospect of
"fruitful life." Bejar wanders in and out with backing vocals and extended
guitar lines, but the overall feeling is of two artists taking a little time
out for themselves.