Butcher Boy - React or Die ?

  by Tommy Gunnarsson

published: 3 / 4 / 2009




Butcher Boy - React or Die ?


Label: How Does It Feel to Be Loved
Format: CD
Predictable, but still compelling Glaswegian indie pop on second album from Butcher Boy



Review

There must be something in the drinking water in Glasgow. Or, at least that’s my theory, as almost all the bands that emerge from the Scottish city sound... well...quite the same. And even though it might seem a bit predictable, it’s also nice to know what you will get for your money when you buy a Glaswegian record. Okay, I will admit that the previous sentences were somewhat exaggerated. But at the same time, it is a plain fact that Belle and Sebastian created a monster (a good looking one, though) when they released the 'Tigermilk' album back in the mid-90’s. Following down a similar path to bands like Camera Obscura and California Snow Story, Butcher Boy are now releasing their second album, a follow-up to '2007's 'Profit in Your Poetry'. The first single off the album, 'Carve the Pattern', is pure Belle and Sebastian gold. The first thought that ran through my head when I heard it was that this was Butcher Boy’s version of the song 'The Boy with the Arab Strap'. But it’s good. Very good. I can ignore also ignore the fact that singer John Blain Hunt sounds quite a lot like Stuart Murdoch (the only difference being that Hunt has a slightly darker voice). Butcher Boy also bring back memories of an Edinburgh band called the Marvellous Mechanical Mouse Organ, a band with tons of members and that never got around releasing a proper record, but the demo recordings I heard was nothing less that brilliant. Oh, how I miss them… Anyway, if you like your Belle and Sebastian and the lighter side of pop, this is an album for you. Which means that it’s an album for me, too.



Track Listing:-

1 When I'm Asleep
2 Carve a Pattern
3 You're Only Crying for Yourself
4 Anything Other Than Kind
5 This Kiss Will Marry Us
6 A Better Ghost
7 Clockwork
8 Why I Like Babies
9 Sunday Bells
10 React or Die



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