Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 12/03/07
Label: How Does It Feel To Be Loved?

Scottish music seems to have been on the receiving of a bum rap of late. Thanks to the boiled meat'n'two veg stompings of The Fratellis and The View's terrace chant plagiarism, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the spiritual home of indie-pop had shut up shop and called it day. And the less said about Sandi Thom the better.

And yet through this morass of turgid musical hooliganism comes a beacon of hope as Butcher Boy - the brainchild of Glaswegian scenester John Blaine Hunt - arrives with all the gusto of the cavalry to save a scene encircled by high profile dross. Such has been Hunt's passion in keeping the flame of perfect pop burning with his legendary club the National Pop League, that Camera Obscura were moved to pen the tribute "Knee Deep At The NPL" while kindred spirits Belle & Sebastian elected to launch "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" with a music quiz at the club.

Butcher Boy's real genius lies in confidently picking up the baton passed on by their hometown's aural forebears. Sweetening bitter lyrical melancholia with tunes and arrangements that are as fragile as they are beautiful, Butcher Boy strikes a precise balance between heartache and bliss. The pain of "Girls Make Me Sick" is tempered by a driving bass line recalling '60s soul at its best, while elsewhere, the twanging guitars of "Profit In your Poetry" illustrates the many joys that await throughout this debut.

The delicate, brushed strokes and gentle strums of opener "Trouble And Desire" evoke the ghost of Tindersticks, but this is no mere pastiche, rather a heartfelt gesture that sings in its own voice. Indeed, the sprightly bounce of "There Is No One Who Can Tell You Where You've Been" is enough confirmation that we're dealing with something quite special here. The achingly gorgeous "Days Like These Will Be The Death Of Me" brings the album to a stunning close. Treading the fine line between collapse and inner strength, it dares to face up to life's myriad hopes and fears and all points in between.

A stunning debut album that fulfils the promise suggested by the band's appearance on last year's "The Kids In The Club" compilation, Butcher Boy's sensitivities and indie-pop aesthetic ensure there is indeed profit to be gained from their poetry.

    by Julian Marszalek