The Butterfly - "Impatient Orchid" Ep (Good Name For A Racehorse Records)

The Butterfly, another signing to the excellent Good Name For A Racehorse Records, hail from Leeds, England. That all sound normal and above board so far, but I can tell you this five-piece are as far from normal as you could possibly get. In fact, they are just plain crazy!!!

This collective creates music that refuses to sit still. They can quite effortlessly jump from genre to genre, without out impacting on each of the songs flow and cohesiveness. "Impatient Orchid" is a truly remarkable release that embraces several styles with amazing ease.

Billed as a band who make "bombastic, subversive, and unashamedly brainy songs, that would fill stadiums in a universe where irony had been reclaimed by the dumb", their sound is like nothing I have ever heard before.

There is no apparent reason for their schizophrenic nature, but they have a kindred spirit in Mike Patton and his Ipecac imprint. The Butterfly share Patton's vision to continually challenge themselves and their listeners.

First song, "Eros and Thanatos" manages to encompass heavy rock, funk and even Mexican mariachi music. Add crunchy Tool style guitars at the chorus, and this is a curiously eclectic mix. This band manage to out do their American counterparts such as Incubus, whose middle of the road rock these days, is a poor relation to this.

The band claim they are happy being "too heavy for the indie kids and to weird for the rock crowd", but given the backing of inferior bands like Incubus and Linkin Park, they could be huge.

"The Art Of Falling" brings to mind "Angel Dust" period Faith No More. Again, it features several styles that somehow merge and work together. The frontman also displays an impressive vocal range, during a rather catchy chorus.

It is astonishing how many differing time time signatures and textures that are used in songs that last no longer than 4 minutes.

"Dispatches From De Clerambault's Patient", is probably the most straight-foward song on this ep, musically anyway. The Lyrical content, as the title suggests, is a different matter. This song is an account of "paranoia and is bleaky terrifying..."

Final track, "Priorities" reminds slightly of System Of A Down, only without their MTV sheen. It features an urgently funky verse, before those huge Tool-esque guitars come crashing in again on the chorus.

There is so much going on in "Impatient Orchid" that the 15 minute running time flies past as you listen. But, you are certain to go back for more. I don't know what the future holds for The Butterfly, I'm not even sure they do!. Whatever it is though, I can guarentee it will be weird, wonderful and extremely thrilling. Listen here and order "Impatient Orchid" here