Genre: Alternative / Progressive Rock
Name: Butterfly Convict
Album: Butterfly Convict EP, 2010
I found this EP somewhat... arresting
Well, Coheed & Cambria are currently doing a promotion of various bands made by their fans, and so Butterfly Convict appeared on my radar with this 37-minute exposition, which is not particularly atrocious; They're from Long Island, but other than that they're actually quite good.
Musically, the five piece is interesting, with interesting song structures; for example the opening track, Opus One, has two very different verse riffs, thus bringing into dispute whether it is a verse or not. Vulpic has two seperate choruses. Tension Grid has about 5 different verse styles. There are, in addition, many excellent riffs. The vocalist, while he at first seemed to be a little shipshod, actually grew on me the more I listened, and on the whole is rather good
It is worth noting, however, that the band has recently expanded from a four-piece to a five-piece, with the drummer taking up the duties of second guitarist, with the intention, according to Ross, the drummer-cum-guitarist, to "fill out our sound more and create complimenting guitar parts", which will certainly enhance the music, I feel. This should give their next release a more interesting flavour, which I am certainly looking forward to.
Lyrically, it is somewhat of a mixed bag - there are several moments of poetic excellence: "This spark of different colours; / A vulpic flare." (Vulpic) and "Sleep, baby, sleep. / Til the demons have gone away. / They prowl the night in search of loving homes." and the iambic "It's time to tame the Tension Grid" (both from Tension Grid) strike me as brilliant. However, there is the somewhat clichéd political song, with the immortal (in as much as that they just won't die) lines "While the rich stay rich & the poor get poorer." (Break My Faith). However, this is their first release; you must give them time to find their feet.
However, as you reach the end of the up-til-then mediocre EP, you find Tension Grid, which is much more of a magnum opus than Opus One was. At 12 minutes, it makes up about a third of the time, but is by far the best song: lyrically excellent, musically more diverse and interesting and in general just rather good. Here, everything fits together a lot better, nothing seems contrived (although there are a couple of moments of atrocious cheesiness) and you can see why Coheed & Cambria felt that they could promote them - indeed, this song sounds very much like the aforementioned band both melodically (to a certain extent) and structurally, and the lyrics, whilst on a completely different subject, hold an air that is not too dissimilar from Sanchez's works. It is for this reason that I felt this EP worth a few moments of your time.
Summary: An interesting final song, making an otherwise common-or-garden EP much more worthwhile.
Lyrical Themes: Love, politics and Tension Grids
Rating: 7/10
Track listing:
1. Opus One
2. Vulpic
3. Break My Faith
4. Catharsis
5. Tension Grid
Bandcamp
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Hey man, I'm one of the guitarists of Butterfly Convict. I really appreciate your feedback, it was awesome to have a review. In response to your comment about the 2 guitars...during the recording of these EP, we were a four-piece band: vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and drummer. I was the drummer at the time, and recently I became a second guitarist as a means to fill out our sound more and create complimenting guitar parts. Our next release will be our first as a five-piece.
ReplyDeleteHey Ben,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment; you're most welcome - I enjoy writing these reviews.
I have corrected the review, based on your new information. Unfortunately, I always seem to end up being behind the curve, which causes my information to be somewhat limited at times. Still, we live and learn.
This was a very quick response, by the way: it's a good public relations thing you've got going here, since you found this only ten hours after I wrote it. Keep it up; it's good for your image (I think, at any rate - it's certainly endeared you to me).
I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind. Out of interest, who rights the lyrics for your songs, and what on earth is "Tension Grid" about? It sounds so awesome, but I can't quite work out what's going on.
Also, your facebook page holds a photo of a blackboard with writing about the song "Mask of Zorro" on it. Is this an old name for one of these songs, or an exciting new song for the future? If you have the time to answer these, I'd be most grateful.
I'd also just like to take this opportunity to let you know that I think you're actually quite a good band: you're a lot better than most of the other stuff that floods the alternative-rock (what an awful umbrella term!) market these days; It really brightens up my day to know that there is still a lot of originality out there.
Keep up the good work!
/Echo's Wolf
Echo's Wolf,
ReplyDeleteJust as our quick response was endearing to you, your interest in the band truly means a lot to us. It's a great feeling to have someone interested in the music we create, and we appreciate your questions.
Our lead vocalist, Jason, writes all of the lyrics. While I have forgotten most of the specifics, "Tension Grid" revolves around four characters: The Dreamer, The Martyr, The Bastard, and The Angel. With this song, Jason really tried to create a story (when we originally wrote it, we intended it to be the first part of a three part saga. Since then we've scrapped the idea, as we think it might be too above our station). Each section is told from the point of view of a different character.
While I do believe the story revolves around a sort of extra-terrestrial invasion, I don't know the details. However, if you'd like, you can search "Jay Figueredo" in Facebook and directly message him, as he knows every detail about the story (or I can send him to you, whatever works best for you).
"The Mask of Zorro" is the working title for a new song. We've written two songs as a five-piece so far, and the end result has been much different than our previous effort: Shorter songs that clock in at around the five minute mark, complimentary guitar parts, more technical drums, the addition of piano, and an overall less cheesy sound and over-dramatic sound as the result of the band maturing as musicians and people. We recognize the cheesiness that can be found in our first EP (we wrote the songs when we were 16) and feel that our new songs are more mature sounding and less over-the-top. We hope for a more digestible yet technically interesting second EP that will be recorded and released it by July.
Your compliments towards the band are flattering and we could not appreciate it more. As a band that's only been around for about a year and a half, we're doing as much as we can to get our name out there and have people enjoy our music.
Hope I could answer your questions, and I'd be glad to answer any more you may have!
-Ben
Hey,
ReplyDeleteYou're most welcome for the questions. I'm always on the look out for good new music, and I find yours most interesting indeed.
Speaking of being above one's station, I hope I'm not out of place in saying that which follows. The only thing that defines what your "station" is as a band is the band itself. Just because you're a new band doesn't mean that you shouldn't go for something grand. Look at Coheed & Cambria; from their first album they had decided to create a 5-album saga, with graphic novels as an added bonus. Dream Theater started their epyllion in only their second album, and that turned into a one-and-a-half hour long album, ranked the 95th best guitar album, in any genre, by any band, ever. Escape The Fate, Haken, Tessarect - they all had a concept or series of linked songs on their first releases, and they've either made it big or are very much on their way. What I'm trying to say is, "Think big". You're not a small band, you're a growing band, and there are no rules saying you can or can't begin a twelve-album magnum opus about a killer tyre with hipster glasses, a pet walrus and irritable bowel syndrome (but perhaps not...). Go for it! Obviously, it's your choice, and I have great faith in your musical ability, but you've got great potential; don't feel constrained by anything else. The only limit, if I'm allowed to be cheesy for a moment, on your potential is the sky.
As for your new release, I'm very much looking forward to it; the notes on "The Mask Of Zorro" seem interesting. Piano, I think, at least, is always a great addition, and more interesting drums sounds good as well. The more interesting, the better. Obviously, experience and musical maturity will have a great effect on your sound, and I'm already anticipating this EP. July seems a long time away, all of a sudden.
Once again, you're most welcome. I shall do my best to promote you over here, which shouldn't be a problem: I know plenty of people have good music taste.
Thank you very much for answering my questions, and if I have any more, I shan't hesitate to ask.
Best of luck,
/Echo's Wolf