Blue October

Justin Furstenfeld is certainly never one to mince words. Whether on or offstage, the Blue October singer-songwriter tells it like it is. It’s no surprise then that on a recent afternoon, Furstenfeld is nothing less than blunt in his assessment of his iconic band’s breakthrough album. “It’s fucking beauty! It’s gorgeous! It’s timeless!” the singer says with zero hesitation. He’s speaking to Foiled, Blue October’s epic and undeniably enduring 2006 landmark LP, a 14-track collection that temporarily sent the Houston-bred band into the stratosphere thanks to seminal singles including “Hate Me” and “Into The Ocean.”

And while on first glance it might appear the musician is lavishing praise upon his band’s most well-known project, it’s anything but hubris. Rather, Furstenfeld is speaking to the appreciation and love he’s come to feel for the project, notably the knowledge of what that specific body of work did and continues to do for him, for his band, for his overall mental well-being, for his journey to the present. Because for as much as Foiled initially sent Furstenfeld and Blue October’s life into a manic whirlwind, now, as the singer looks back on it 20 years in the rearview, and particularly as the band prepares to launch a yearlong Foiled 20th-anniversary celebration, the singer has come to realize what a true blessing his band’s most beloved body of work has been in his life.