Butterface\u2026 hmmm. The band-name suggests a punk outfit.
\nPopskull<\/i>: the album-name does enough to affirm that
\nButterface is definitely punk and has no special inclination
\ntowards pop, or even liking for it. The crassly crazy album-cover
\nwraps up the whole mystery of what the band could be. So, even
\nwithout putting the CD inside my player I can say that Butterface
\nis keen to smash pop’s skull.<\/p>\n
On the first CD-spin in my player, I hear “Letting Go,” my first
\nencounter with
\nPopskull<\/i>, and Butterface itself: peppy tune with crunchy
\nguitar chunks, with a healthy pop-rock appeal; this is not punk,
\nand definitely not anti-pop. As I go deeper into the album, I find
\nthat Butterface is not even close to what I actually thought it
\ncould be, and I ended up telling myself, “you could judge a book by
\nits cover, but never judge a band by its name, or the sound of an
\nalbum by its title or cover”‘; I have learnt my lesson.<\/p>\n
The closest I can compare the feel of this band, is to that of
\nThe Tragically Hip or Soul Asylum.
\nPopskull<\/i> rocks in copious amounts. It has a good taste for
\ngrimy guitar-work and an ear for friendly distortion. It also has
\nan affably sunny sound, one that is more likely to be embraced by
\npop-music than rock. Still, Butterface isn’t too cheesily
\nradio-friendly. It is fun music that can be as enjoyable if taken
\nseriously.<\/p>\n
Butterface doesn’t want itself to be taken very seriously, and
\nthe song-writing is nothing intense, and very casual. This is a
\ngood thing, because the band sounds very natural. The album sleeve
\nsays that the band loves “Pete’s Place,” and has a song to that
\neffect (called “Pete’s Place”), simplistically describing how it
\nloves this bar called as Pete’s Place, which is, as Jerry Rig gaily
\nsings, “more than just a neighborhood bar to me; it’s become
\neverything I ever want in a family\u2026I am alive at Pete’s
\nPlace.” This very un-erudite, offhand song-writing approach makes
\nme think of some silly, stupid and treasured nostalgic moments of
\nmy life.<\/p>\n
The lyrics are not the focal point of
\nPopskull<\/i>, but the music is, especially Jerry Rig’s crispy
\nguitar-work. Though Jerry’s cracking vocals don’t do much more than
\nmerely add a vocal accompaniment to the music, his hands do awfully
\ngreat job in making
\nPopskull<\/i> as enjoyable as it is. Very much like the casual
\nnature of the band, the guitar-work, if not seriously intense,
\nmakes a strong and noticeable presence throughout the album.<\/p>\n
Jerry’s vocals are nothing special. But, along with the musical
\nsupport of Will Poncavage on the bass, Billy Dyke on the drums and
\nof course his own capability with the guitar, the band together do
\nhave a pretty good effect on the moods of the songs. The great
\nalbum kick-off “Letting Go” is pretty and zippy. The album
\ndissident “Impatient” is all sweaty, grimy and frustrated like its
\ntitle. “Celestia” and “Give It Up” are the perfect exemplars of the
\ncheery nature of the album.<\/p>\n
\nPopskull<\/i> doesn’t have a dull moment, and there are album
\nfavorites: “Letting Go,” “Celestia,” “Give It Up” and “Impatient.”
\nBut, amongst all the sunshine of the album, the tender and dreamy
\n“Sacred Heart” and “You Need Someone” win heart at the end of the
\njourney through
\nPopskull<\/i>. Singer Jerry Rig’s broken vocals add an unusually
\nmischievous charm to these numbers that actually demand a much less
\nsore singing.<\/p>\n
Butterface’s uncomplicated, cordial and ordinary manner is its
\nstrength.
\nPopskull<\/i> will not provide solace to a battered soul. It will
\nnot change lives, nor will it inspire. It is cheerful and happy. It
\nis like the sunshine on a bright and sunny day: enjoy its shades
\nand shadows in the comfort of your home, or go out and get a good
\ntan; it shines the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":26806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7064],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-38080","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-butterface","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38080"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}