Singles

Jack Butler - Velvet Prose

Alex Worsnip 25/09/2006

Rating: 3/5

When a certain type of music becomes fashionable, there's a serious time lag on bands of that style being ten-a-penny. And so, it's as we all get just a tad tired of XTC-aping indie-pop that we're most overwhelmed with new bands of this type trying to break through, but they are now far less likely to do so. Jack Butler, to be fair, are OK at it: they have memorable tunes and their taut riffage is focused well. If this had been made in 1980 it would probably be viewed as classic now. But it wasn't, and so it feels inevitably less groundbreaking. Velvet Prose is built on a disco-ish beat and the looped line 'she sold her soul to the martyrs', topped off with some almost random-sounding guitar chords. 'He's Got No Game', meanwhile, is their all-out punk-funk stab. But probably the best thing here is 'Candles', which hits a stride of dense rushing that is quite exhilirating. All in all, then, well-executed, but a year or two too late, and consequently not all that invigorating.