Butcher Boy - 18th Emergency EP
4 Comments Published by Trev Lostmusic on Monday, September 10, 2007 at 13:50.
Butcher Boy released their debut LP ' 'Profit in your Poetry' at the start of this year and it was a rather wonderful LP. It's one of my contenders for 'Record of the year'. And now they've released this EP as it's follow up. Again on the How Does It Feel To Be Loved label. This is two new songs and two reworked offerings from the debut LP (more on these in a moment). First up the new songs - 'The Eighteenth Emergency' is a rather lush opening song, recalling The Magnetic Fields and the Tindersticks. John Blain Hunt's vocals are distinctive and the words he has written continue to transcend a mere pop song - this song moves him on and away from The Smiths/Morrissey comparisons that came on the back of the debut LP. This is a wonderful song and one where Butcher Boy are taking the sound they started with and moving it forward. Lovely.The other new song is called 'React or Die' and it's another fine piece of chamber style pop, with strings and a soulful sorrow in the vocals. It's probably not as strong as some of the songs that were on the LP but it is a good little song none-the-less. Which leads me nicely to the two 're-workings' -'There Is No-One Who Can Tell You Where You've Been' and 'Keep Your Powder Dry'. The former seems to have been given a Spanish guitar treatment (excuse my ignorance if it's not Spanish guitar) - and that has only served to take the sting out of the opening and the whole song seems to have lost a little of it's punch. It's still a wonderful song, but I do prefer the LP version. One of the highlights of the LP is 'Keep Your Powder Dry' and the re-working here takes the song and gives it a near skiffle beat. It takes a bit of getting used to, and again I prefer the version on 'Profit in your Poetry'. Again, it's still a lovely song - but I have to wonder at the need to re-work them. This EP is worth getting for 'The Eighteenth Emergency' alone, and the reworkings and the other new song are nice bonuses to hear. But it's this song that tugs at my heart strings.
You can buy the EP from the How Does It Feel To Be Loved shop for £2.99 plus postage and packaging.
hi tom!
i have to disagree :)
i think this is definitely the best thing they have done. "react or die" might just be my favourite butcher boy song and i can't wait to hear what it will sound like on the album! i also think the new versions, in all their acoustic starkness, are better than the album ones. they're so different, which is justification enough in itself to release them. and you didn't even mention the packaging/artwork, which is brilliant.
having said this i'm still convinced the second album will make all their previous work diminish in comparison!
cheers,
chris
Hey Chris - I still haven't seen or heard it yet as Mr Watson's postal service seems to be slow on the uptake. Trev wrote the review!
How are things mate? Waiting for my ASAAR single to drop through the door any day now.
That was my review and I standby it. I prefer the LP versions of the reworked songs. It's nice to hear them reworked - but if I want to hear them I will play the LP.
I love the lead song! and I think 'React or Die' is not a patch on some of the LP tracks whilst not being a bad song on it's own.
As for packaging - the HDIF label only sent me MP3s to review. If they wanted me to comment on the whole thing they should have sent it to me.
Trev (Lostmusic)
I really really love "Eighteenth Emergency" even if i still haven't received my copy of the record and only heard the demo. I have to admit that "React Or Die" doesn't make my heart jump out of joy quite the way as the first mentioned song does (maybe because i only ever heard the demo of that as well) but it's still a lovely gentle song. Mr. Hunt has a gift of writing fragile yet witty lyrics.
(Also, thank you Chris for your kind words about my artwork!)
Sincerely,
Ulla