Album Review

Barbarossa – Butterfly Plague EP

• 17th Jun 2012

Evocative synths and scattered drum machines breath life into the beautifully delicate Butterfly Plague E.P, creating a perfect example of how to tug on the heart strings with just a few simple concepts, a fragile voice and a little technology.

Since catching Barbarossa live at a charity gig late last year and gorging myself on whatever sounds of his the Internet could offer me, I have been eagerly anticipating the release of new material.

A folky nuance on display in previous offerings is hard to shrug off, by no means a bad thing, as it lends the tracks a genuine warmth and earthiness, a certain campfire feeling that draws you in and engages with you on a personal level.

Indeed, Temporary and the Stones are both shot through with heartfelt emotion and completed with vocal turns that are so entrancing so as to mark out Barbarossa as a leading light in post-break up anthems, destined to be played on repeat in the bedrooms of the lonely across this land.

And it pains me to say anything against it, but I certainly wish that this release offered up just a little more…

Those, like me, that have been waiting for the return of Barbarossa are dreadfully teased with just two brand new tracks, supplemented by a re-recording of 2006’s sublime Stones (and an additional remix of the hypnotic title track exclusively for those that still consume their music on vinyl).

So it is that the Butterfly Plague E.P serves as a timely taster of a unique talent, a talent that I would plead effervescently with others to witness live at all costs, and I plead with Barbarossa to grace us with more material pretty sharpish (please).

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