Number 2 of 2003 — Butterfly Boucher: Flutterby

One of the things that’s really good about music is its ability to let you into other people’s lives. Back when this album was released, Butterfly Boucher didn’t have much of a website, so I knew pretty much nothing about her. Based on the music, however, I think I learnt a lot about her and what makes her the person she is. Now that she has a decent website, it’s nice to know that those insights proved correct. Mainly: that she’s really passionate about music, life and family.

Flutterby is to all intents and purposes a solo album. Butterfly was born the middle child of seven daughters to free-spirited, creatively-endowed, and very spiritual parents. Few of her siblings played instruments, and because they lived their lives roaming around the Australian outback, she couldn’t learn from, or play with others. She taught herself how to use a four-track recorder by the time she was 10 and played as many instruments as she could find, building up multi-instrumental layered demos.

She and her family eventually moved to Europe to pursue a career in street theatre, with Butterfly ending up in Stockton to stay with family and friends. It’s there that she honed her songwriting skills and developed her career as a solo artist. With the exception of a cello, and some of the drum tracks (which Butterfly answered on bass, live), everything you hear on this debut album is played and arranged by Butterfly. So we have guitars, drums, bass, piano, vibes, organ, mellotron, a toy piano, field organ, banjo, and various percussion (including planks of wood, a tympani, a steel wheel, and a hammer). Sounds like it would be a mess? But it isn’t.

Sure, it’s a busy album. There are plenty of sprinkles and motifs that wouldn’t be there in more mature arrangements. But, unlike some reviewers, I think everything should be there. Take for example the throwaway plucked coda to second track Can You See The Lights?. It comes out of nowhere, absolutely no hint it’s coming, and boom.. Perfect.

Breakthrough track (well it was on MTV) I Can’t Make Me is musically and lyrically impressive – “Paper pen and a piece of your heart / I can read it but where do I start?” Butterfly doesn’t skimp on ideas: the break in the middle might go off on a slightly different tangent than one might expect, but this means there’s loads of tunes inside each individual song. Why use one instrument when you can use three. Or why play this part of the song the same as you did last time around? The start to every verse is a little different from the rest. It’s a real treat to uncover these nuances on each listen, and on each track.

More highlights: Soul Back, one of my favourites. I should repeat the lyrics in full. But just the first verse instead: “I must have left it on the table / Or the chair / Not sure / I didn’t feel it it was painless / Oh dear / I guess I’m just a little careless / I’ll confess / When the music’s on / Everything else gets lost”. It’s really important to play this loud. Real loud.

A Walk Outside continues to demonstrate her passion for music and the fact she cannot distinguish or separate music from life, nor life from music. “Which came first / The love or the love song?”.

A click track starts Never Leave Your Heart Alone which is joined by piano. Then it all goes off. Twice. The break is incredible, joined by Butterfly’s ‘ahhh, oooohh’ backing vocals. It’s a very personal song. Autobiographical or not, it speaks volumes to me.

Imagery. Or is it? A Beautiful Book can be read in one or both of two ways. Depending on which mood I’m in, it’s either a song full of daft lyrics out of the Kate Bush songbook, or something a bit more. A tree that wants to be a book or sand that wants to be turned into a pair of spectacles. Hmm.. Still I wouldn’t want to be the bear. But what’s this doing here: “There was a book that took the world by storm”. I dunno. I’m just a tease I guess. Listen to the song yourself and make up your own mind.

“Another song about love / gone right” is the ear catching lyric on Never Let It Go. It’s a fair romp through a library full of musical instruments.

Drift on is the last track on the album. A solo guitar accompanies Butterfly, and I still can’t work out if there are any overdubs or if it’s live. Boy, she can sing.

Or it would be the last album if you don’t live in the UK. For we’re fortunate to get two bonus tracks. And I still can’t work out why they are bonus tracks. They’re both astonishing: For A Song is one of those tracks that builds up and up. A chord change and a whole new set of instruments.. piano please. Then we get to the second break and everything comes back, with a tamborine. Strangely it sounds more impressive on headphones.

Then we get to Gift Wrap: A Kristin Hersh style layered guitar intro, and some soft backing vocals, which lull you into thinking that’s all it will be. Then one minute in. “Gift wrap / this town / this chance / to keep a little joy / to pass onto another / steal a little joy”. The gentlest percussion. “Wrap it up / keep it safe / let it go another day”. And we’re no longer unaccompanied. Bam! A kind of ‘wig-out’ with Scrawl electric guitars. Those poor cymbals.

There you have it. Fourteen luscious tracks. If this album was a food, it would be one of those meaty, rustic, country soups. It leaves me totally fulfilled. You can hear the enthusiasm in each track. Each song has a purpose. Each means something to Butterfly and therefore to me. Love life. Love music. And Love this album.