Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Telepathic Butterflies - Breakfast in Suburbia - 2008


Over 40 years after the Beatles grabbed North America's musical consciousness by the lapels and gave it a friendly shake, their brand of guitar-based pop is still influencing bands here, there, and everywhere, and the third album from Winnipeg's the Telepathic Butterflies, Breakfast in Suburbia, shows that plenty of good things can still be built from the Fab Four's model. The Telepathic Butterflies aren't devoted to the Beatles at the exclusion of all else — "Telescope" shows flashes of both the Hollies and the Kinks, and "If It's All Too Much" suggests someone in this band listened to a lot of Who records. But the clean melodic lines and energetic guitar figures of the Beatles circa 1963-1965 clearly loom large in the Telepathic Butterflies' pantheon of influences, and they certainly do right by their role models. Réjean Ricard's guitar work is sharp and engaging, and he's a first-class songwriter to boot, sounding equally clever as a lyricist and tunesmith, and Jacques Dubois and Eric Van Buren are an excellent rhythm section, giving the songs plenty of snap and crackle while pushing the tunes forward with just the right degree of force. Though it isn't difficult to suss out this group's influences, the Telepathic Butterflies aren't overwhelmed by them, or living in a bygone era; these are simply bandmembers who understand the virtues of a smart, well-crafted pop tune played with fire and skill, and they have the talent to apply those lessons to their own work. Breakfast in Suburbia is superb pop/rock in the classic style that anyone who still believes in the curative power of the electric guitar will want to hear. -AMG

If you like "Breakfast in Suburbia" get it here!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a request, if you have this:
The Invisible Mind Circus - Look Inside (2005). It's a very good jangle pop album, sounding like a cross between The Byrds and Tom Petty.

Anonymous said...

I tried to find this Swedish Power Pop band called "Tommy 16" album named Shauna.. can you help me find it? Btw, super nice blog you have here! thanks!

Curty Ray said...

Hey popheaven and anonymous (please leave a name or something) here you go! Enjoy

Curty Ray

Frank Miller said...

Hi Curt,
Have you ever seen the vinyl version of this record ? It's a double LP on orange and green vinyl with a poster and 22 songs. The track order and overall production of a few of the tracks are different as well. I may post it one day. Thanks for turning me on to such a great band. As always, your blog is hands down the best out there, for modern Powerpop.Keep up the great job you do.
Thank You,
Frank

tomatodon said...

Say hey Ray, can you repost the rapidshare or other link to Breakfast in Suburbia? Current link can't be viewed. Thanks as always.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin