Search - Butterfly Child :: Soft Explosives

Somewhere between Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys and the Blue Nile, there's a Butterfly Child. Well, probably more than one of them, since they're a band. But think of a more ethereal High Llamas, and the picture begins to come into focus. They manage the nifty trick of being sparse and lush at the same time, everything perfectly judged, and when they layer on the vocals, as in "Zeppelin Catches Fire at Speed," it's like flying through the clouds. Without some good material, it would all be an academic exercise, of course, but they've got it. "NumberOne" would have been exactly that in 1968. It's all sunny and gauzy, the kind of thing you want in your Walkman all summer to conjure up the warmth of its moods. --Chris Nickson