News : Butterfly Explosion Quit
With a heavy heart I bring you the news that Butterfly Explosion have called time on their band. A reliable source confirmed the damning news via email and my stoic reserve regarding Friday 13 frippery ebbed away. It’s a black day.
I fell under their spell when a friend lent me their second EP. I’d heard Sophia and met the band briefly at the fall ‘06 Tisch Premieres. At that point Irish music was still opening up to me and exploring, I realised this band were one of our finest.
BX were the sound of windowless rooms and venues, the lure of Car Park stronger than a stranger with a lollipop making it, IMHO, the best live intro song of recent years. On forming in 2005, the Vision EP was ready within a year and subsequently sold out. Success manifested in second EP Turn The Sky in 2006. Above the brave, loud noise intricate drops of tiny sound made this record tighter, transcending Vision’s sweet introduction. Rave reviews followed along with support to 65 Days of Static and dates in Canada, the US and UK.
While ‘Irish music’ as a keyword on Google invokes a sense of dread on my part, knowing we had a real contender to make us proud, a band to shatter showcases with originality and flair was heartening. I see the same thing in Halves, hard work and honey, a beehive of songs built around selective live performances. You can tell these people live, breathe, play, play, play.
The blaze to shoegaze perfection for Butterfly Explosion gathered momentum. Appearing from shadows at a bright point for indie pop, their “effects-laden guitars and doleful boy girl vocals” were tipped for success in 2007. Gazz Carr, John Canavan, Sorcha Brennan, Danny Conway and Peter Savage were sought-after for the alternative purity of tracks like Sophia and Chemistry and found the world opening up, eager for more of this reserved bunch with the beautiful name. Gigs abroad, new audiences and material steered a steady course. Completion of the debut album and a 2008 tour were in the works. People were ready for the next chapter.
Who could expect that chapter to come in the departure of drummer Peter in December? A farewell gig in Crawdaddy, the band’s only Irish headliner of 2007 saw Turn In You and Automatic debut to a warm reception, the strength of these new songs bolstering the gap left by Savage. Though a replacement was drafted in for Club AC30 and Maps at Bud Rising, those last gigs were the final stretches of the Butterflies’ wings.
Just a band of course, one more group of people whose temperament and timely collaboration resulted in a new star pricking music’s sky. Reports suggest they’ll continue their own careers as musicians and I wish them the very best. Creatures like these are infamous for short, halcyon lives. Births and break-ups pass the days, stars and sky remain. With a name like Butterfly Explosion, we should have seen it coming.
READ :
Drop-D interview - March 2008
HotPress interview - April 2006
WATCH :
Car Park
Turn In You
DOWNLOAD : (free)
Vision EP
Turn The Sky EP
June 16th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Damn shame-really loved their tunes!
June 16th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
thats sad
June 16th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
yes indeed a shame,
from playing gigs with them in an old band i was in they were a pleasure to share a bill with (we even covered one of their songs one night!)
they are standup kind folk and worked hard and it showed- not doubt about it,
best of luck in all their future projects, i’ll be looking forward to them
June 16th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
in 2008 i was expecting an album from BX, not a breakup!
theyll be missed.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Sad news indeed. Saw them several times in Whelans and each time they were great. Shame.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Good luck with Haunt Me When I’m Drowsy, Brian. Mind you stay together now!
I really would like to have seen the album, it’s something solid to hold on to. Though we haven’t seen the last of the guys, I always find it a bit depressing when a band split before realising The Record. *sighs*
June 16th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Bad news indeed.
My favourite ClubAC30 gig so far was their headliner in March with Subplots and Lights, it was an amazing gig and they had that great new drummer and all.
And what amazing dudes (and dudette) to work with too, made our job hella easy.
I hear there are some exciting new projects in the pipeline through the B.Ex grapevine… wanna be the first to book them!!
June 16th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Awful news. Great band, remember them well from the CPU days…really gutted to hear that.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
shame
great band…
June 16th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
We had the pleasure of playing quite a few gigs with them over the years, dating all the way back to when we first started playing live. Some of the best gigs we’ve played have been alongside this band. Always a pleasure to play with, nicer folks you could never meet.
They’ll be missed, but I’m definately looking forward to whatever musical projects rise from the ashes..
June 16th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
A sad blow to Irish music. Very disappointed we won’t be seeing that album this year.
On the flip side, it will be interesting to hear the directions the members take from here.
June 16th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Defo one of Ireland’s best. And The Coronas are still together. Why do you mock me, music gods? Why?
June 17th, 2008 at 7:07 am
My son has recently discovered dropping to his knees with a wail of “whhhhhhy?”
He’d do well on this thread. You’d all like him.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Another interesting BX interview here :
http://www.spillmagazine.com/features.html#butterfly
June 17th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Just Sorcha and Danny left I’ve heard there. I think that the BX might actually be continuing without them?
June 17th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Actually didn’t Danny leave already? Ah I don’t know what’s going on.
June 17th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
The Butterfly Reconstruction
June 17th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Your in safe hands with GIAA on board, sounds amazing. Good to hear that Gazz
June 17th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
According to a blog they posted on myspace the album IS still going ahead
June 17th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
That’s a story for another day…ie, tomorrow morning.