\nI Only Laugh When It Hurts<\/i> is a follow-up to Butterface’s
\n2004 debut
\nPopskull<\/i>. When a band makes a great record, and knows that
\nit has created a great record, it goes through some amount of
\npressure — if not none — when it sets out to work on the
\nfollow-up (ask Coldplay), and in that process, invariably tries a
\nnew and experimental sound. As for the question of how well these
\nnew avatars work for the band, is something irrelevant in the
\npresent discussion.<\/p>\n
\nI Only Laugh\u2026<\/i> is a typical successor to a great
\nrecord. It has a different sound, and the band has a new attitude.
\nPopskull<\/i> had everything an aspiring alt-rock act like
\nButterface — and an average listener of such a record — would
\nwant in a debut: well-crafted uncomplicated rock songs with crisp
\nand catchy hooks, which flow effortlessly from an outfit that seems
\nto be playing at its best.<\/p>\n
\nI Only Laugh\u2026<\/i> is
\nPopskull<\/i> minus the catchiness, simple choruses, and the
\ngeneral feeling of well-being. It is raw, complete with sharp claws
\nand menacing teeth, and it is out to sink them into the listener’s
\nears and enjoy the sight of the slow bleeding process.<\/p>\n
The opener “Temptation” sets it all up for the rest of the
\nrecord to follow: A slow intro builds up into a rage-ridden chaotic
\ntemper, in the midst of which singer Jerry Rig bawls out in full
\nfury, “You had the choice, but you gave into temptation,” as if to
\nsay “suffer, dude, suffer, and you’re to blame for it,” not making
\nthings any easier for the sufferer.<\/p>\n
“Temptation,” nevertheless, is an awesome rock song, giving a
\nperfect “punch-in-the-face” effect. The album gets better and
\nmeaner, but the songs still rock and are still awesome.
\nParticularly, “Where Have You Gone,” “Slow,” “Impossible,” and
\n“Didn’t You” give the effect of the unexplainable rush of blood
\nthat makes rock music so damn fantastic. However, these tracks are
\nmuch more aggravated and reprimanding in nature as compared to cuts
\non Popskull that gave a similar high.<\/p>\n
With every experimental record, there is a downside, and which
\nis, its weirdness. And songs that give form to this weirdness often
\nbear the brunt of despoiling the record, for those who fail to
\nunderstand them.
\nI Only Laugh\u2026<\/i> has a few of such songs, which are
\noutright eccentric, leaving the listener disillusioned, in a
\nway.<\/p>\n
“(Not) Missing You” is the least unconventional of the far-out
\nnumbers in album. This number kicks off in a semi-drugged state
\nwith some really fine sax-accompaniments, but somewhere mid-way
\ngets sick of its own sluggishness and tries to run away from it as
\nif it is on fire, with Rig screaming “I am not missing you, ” as if
\nto say “Run! Fire! Run!” The 33-second long “That Sucking Sound,”
\nthe 2-minute long “Way To Winger,” can be considered as unnecessary
\nfillers, or interesting sound-bytes (that come as a part-and-parcel
\nof every concept album), depending upon which way they are looked
\nat.<\/p>\n
\nI Only Laugh\u2026<\/i> is not as conventional as
\nPopskull<\/i>, and is much more moodier. Its moods are much
\ndarker and discomposed. It does not have the appeal of
\nPopskull<\/i>, which can be accepted and appreciated by most
\nlisteners wanting to give it a shot.
\nI Only Laugh\u2026<\/i> may alienate some of Butterface’s
\nprevious listeners. But the band had to grow up, and
\nI Only Laugh\u2026<\/i> is a mature effort.<\/p>\n