Telepathic Butterflies - Songs From A Second Wave

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 16 / 3 / 2005

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This is the second album on Rainbow Quartz from this Canadian three-piece. It covers much the same ground as the well received ‘Introducing’, but this time all 13 songs are new ; ‘Introducing’ included songs from their first album, ‘Nine Songs’. All the influences which shone through so brightly on that first album are still there; The Beatles from the mid to late 60's, the Hollies, the Who from their ‘Sell Out’ era and so consequently the songs recall Big Star, Matthew Sweet and all those usual suspects. So are The Telepathic Butterflies just another band recycling the sounds of the past? Well, yes and no actually. That they wear their influences so proudly on their sleeves is no bad thing but the fact that they do it so much better than most of their contemporaries sets them apart from all the other bands that are producing this new take on the psychedelic sounds that British bands were so fond of making in the mid to late 60's. Taking the power trio format, the band is made up of Rejan Ricard (who wrote all the songs) on vocals, guitar and bass, Eric Van Buren on bass and Jacques Dubois on drums and vocals. Apart from some extra guitar and bass on a few songs, all the sounds on the album are the work of the three piece. The band also produced, arranged and mixed the thirteen songs together and this shows through in the way that these songs sound like they were made by a group of musicians who know each other inside out. The band have been together for about 6 years now and one listen to the harmonies littered throughout these songs leaves you in no doubt that this is a band who have perfected their sound over the years. Although the production on the first few listens tends to let the sound down, it’s not exactly lo-fi it’s just a bit ‘muddy’ in places and though thankfully lacking in any rough edges which would detract from the sunny Sunday feeling these songs can evoke even in mid winter, a bit more sparkle, a bit more of that magical fairy dust would have taken songs like ‘The Cutting Elm’ from being merely excellent songs to being hailed as the minor classics that they could be. The problem is that on first listen the songs don’t jump out and grab the listener by the throat. In an already overcrowded genre an album like this has to hit home and make an impression the minute the sounds start emerging from the CD player. There is so much good music being made available now ( just check out the releases by Telepathic Butterflies label Rainbow Quartz, any album in their catalogue is of interest to a power pop/ psych/60's fan) and our attention spans sadly are not what they were so unfortunately good songs well played are simply not enough anymore. There’s so much out there that the songs really do have to make an impression on that all important first listen. It took a couple of plays for these songs to show their beauty and that can only be down to the necessary punch being missing from the production because the singing, playing and composing are all first class. Ricard is pretty good at writing lyrics too, sometimes with a sense of humour which is sadly lacking in songs of this genre. First track, ‘Bonhomie’, is really two songs in one. A gentle, pretty melody played out on guitars which sound like a sitar at times and with possibly a xylophone in there as well and lyrics which fool the listener into thinking that we are in for some type of mystical, personal, psychedelic ballad ; “ There is a place that I go, which nobody knows and where few are invited deep in the woods by my home”. The song then takes a completely different turn when the electric guitars make an unexpected entrance 30 seconds in which turn the song into a rockier piece of power pop with lyrics like “ If it’s something I might have done, like make eyes at your mum” before taking in school bullies and other teenage worries. Strange yet totally compelling. Just as it should be in fact. The following song, the aforementioned ‘The Cutting Elm’, is at this moment in time the best song on the album. Recalling the Jasmine Minks finest hour ‘Cold Heart’ in the harmonies and structure again the lyrics are worth mentioning, a casual listen will have you thinking it’s another unrequited love song "The neighbour’s daughter, I spent many nights outside her door" but this is a Telepathic Butterflies song remember, things are never that simple. As with all good songs the lyrics could mean different things to different people, again just as it should be. I stuck with this album for a number of reasons, I had to give it a fair listen to review it for starters, it is on Rainbow Quartz so that means it is worth more than a cursory listen, and there was something about songs like ‘The Cutting Elm’ and ‘One Calendar Year’ which drew me back. By the time I got to track nine, ‘Angry Young Man’, which sounds like a song which was left off the Bee Gees first album for some reason, it was obvious that the more time spent listening to the album the more gratifying it would become. So if the melodic psychedelic pop of the tail end of the 60's holds any appeal for you this album is highly recommended. Just don’t give up after one listen, it will eventually reveal itself as one of the best albums yet on Rainbow Quartz.

Track Listing:-

1 Bonhomie
2 The Cutting Elm
3 Four Leaf Clover
4 Love ( Is ) For Hire
5 Bangor
6 A Pissing Glance
7 Rescue Mission
8 One Calendar Year
9 Angry Young Man
10 Sickly And The Awkward Gene
11 The Guilty Party
12 The Uncomfortableness Of Being
13 Big Bang !

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