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Album Details

• Artist: The Butterfly Explosion
• Album: Vision
• Label: Killing Pop Records
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: mschmitt on 2006-12-15

Whenever a band lists The Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine as their influences, they have me sold like a sucker. Showing they have good taste in well-known styles – as well as teasing the listener with the new sound of unknown indie bands – is a flirtatious and seducing trait. Blending the best of alternative, shoegaze, and indie rock is a delicious combination proven true yet again by Irish rockers The Butterfly Explosion.

Bands with unusual names are a secret love of mine as well, and these guys (and girl) take the odd-ball cake. Formed in late 2004, this Dublin band immediately got down to recording. Vision, their debut EP, was released summer 2005, and was met with raving reviews (and really, why break with the crowd?) Praised for their "melting pot" of influences, they are predicted to become a heavy hitter in the Irish alternative scene.

The least impressive track on the EP in my opinion, "The Great Game," is a poor opener choice. An oddly uncomforting solo drum beat is followed by a corny guitar riff, and unimpressive vocals. The guitar rhythm throughout the song is boring and amateurish, and feels awkwardly naked without the aid of effects. The same rhythm is played through the song: a skippy few chords that are supported by a similarly boring drum beat. The lyrics are well sung, the vocal abilities of lead singer Gazz Carr should not be underestimated. However I find the content corny and overdone. "Soon my fear won’t make sense / Soon my fear will suppress / Now I know what it meant to believe in love" Yeah, we haven’t heard that line before. All in all, I found myself wandering by the end of the song.

Next comes "Comfort Of The Dark." It opens with an interesting guitar riff, still pure with no effects – but with a more complex rhythm – and an alternating second guitar part laying over it. Suddenly the listener’s interest perks. Everything falls away momentarily for the vocal’s entrance, the repeated line "Sweet." While the majority of the song’s lyrics are corny (much like the previous song) a mysterious ending gains pardon: "Til you sink and drown your heart / In the sea, there’s a comfort of the dark." Almost as intriguing as The Smashing Pumpkins lyrics (almost), and suddenly the listener can take his or her own meaning away from it. Brilliant.

What excited me most about this band though, is their last track: "Vision." So far The Butterfly Explosion has hinted at major instrumental potential, showing their knowledge for it in "Comfort Of The Dark." "Vision" blows all that away. In a brilliant eight minutes, The Butterfly Explosion performs the best instrumental track I have heard from a new band. Made all the more impressive is that its on their debut! Again, the band makes good use of effects and a blend of guitar parts. Alternating rhythms and pulses from the two guitarists creates a sense of motion, and almost a growing climax.

Starting with a simple drum beat and single guitar riff – lonely notes being played quickly back and forth – a main melody line is established. Throughout the eight minutes this melody is elaborated on, wound around, warped, and performed in its full sonic excellence. A break between the into and middle is created by a repeated guitar note, growing in speed, volume, and pulse. A second guitar joins the song here, alternating between the repeated note. The drum beats grow louder and faster before everything finally explodes in a beautiful full-blown version of the melody. Hauntingly beautiful at it’s quiet moments, and massively monstrous at it’s climaxes, "Vision" is the masterpiece of The Butterfly Explosion.

With proper exposure, and maybe even without, The Butterfly Explosion is sure to be a major player in alternative music.

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