The Buttermellows- The Butter Demo II
Mar. 29th, 2010 02:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mysoundsofmusicOne of my 101 goals in 1001 days is to buy albums from 10 non-A-List WRockers I've never bought anything from before. When I mentioned this to the Sweetwater All Stars, she suggested I get this CD. And for $3, how could I possibly resist? Only with We Are Magic have I ever been this incredibly pleased with an almost blind, spur-of-the-moment purchase (I mean, I listened to a few songs on MySpace just to make sure it was music that I'd want to listen to, but that's about it). The five songs on the disc are amazing, the sound is unique in the WRock world and beautiful, and I honestly think these will be songs I come back to time and time again as some of my favorites.
Also, the demo disc came personalized to me--um, how awesome is that?! *hugs it* I just had to scan it in below.
The sound quality isn't perfect (I can hear the white noise in the background at the beginning/end of tracks and a few of the lyrics could be a little easier to make out) but I definitely wouldn't expect it to be (it's a demo). And I must admit I had a VERY hard time understanding the lyrics when I was listening at work, where the sound has to be turned down low so it can't be heard outside my office. But once I got the CD into my car CD player and was able to crank up the volume and really concentrate on what I was listening to. And, thus, I entered the honeymoon stage with the CD (where you just listen to it over and over and over again).
I'm at a loss for words when trying to describe the style. It's low, rich, and soulful. The Buttermellows' sound is so perfectly balanced with exceptional lyrics (I'm a lyrics whore). The two work together so well to create a great collection of songs.
1. Never Been so High- This is a nice first song. It's Metawrock and it's kind of fun to hear about something I can sort of relate to (hanging with HP fans at meetings/cons) and, at the same time, can't relate to at all because I'm a WRock fangirl (TM House of Black) not a WRocker. So it's a neat perspective to hear a song about. And it's a lovely song- fun and simple. And who wouldn't love music & butterbeer? heehee
2. One Last Scar- This might be my top 10 favorite WRock songs ever. It's no secret that Remus Lupin is my favorite Harry Potter character, and this is an amazing song sung to him by Sirius. Okay, so... I'm a self-confessed puppy-shipper. Remus/Sirius was my OTP even before I read the books and knew who the characters were (thanks to fanfiction I read, which was the reason I picked up the Harry Potter books in the first place). So when I get a song sung by Sirius to Remus, talking about Remus' love life/outlook on life/situation, I turn into a whimpering, excited, fangirly puddle of happy. Perhaps the lines "when you'd forgiven me/for the prank I knew/I knew we'd be special" isn't supposed to mean what my puppy-shipping mind likes to believe it means, but I'm allowed to interpret it any way I like; that's the beauty of music/art. And there's just something about Sirius's voice coming back to Remus even in a non-slashy sort of way, telling him to be brave again and live his life and accept the love of someone who wants to love him... telling him that Harry needs him and to ignore the moon & stars (and what he is). Seriously, this is SUCH a beautiful song that expresses exactly what my wishes for book 6 Remus are. And it's packed FULL of fantastic lines about Remus being a prefect amongst the rebels, the Marauders taking care of Remus, of Remus & Sirius not trusting each other (thinking each was the spy/traitor). It's got Marauder goodness, hurt/comfort goodness, romance, and a chorus which is so uplifting and reassuring--I don't know how Remus could possibly listen to this and NOT take the advice. As an aside, I was glad to finally read the lyrics and hear that the line is "live life as stable as you possibly can" instead of "live life as a stable" which doesn't make any sense. LOL
3. Queen of Mean- At a recent DADA meeting, several people identified Bellatrix as their favorite female character in the series. I'm a Hufflepuff so I have a very intense respect of loyalty as a trait. But... I totally can't get on board with respecting or liking Bellatrix. She is cruel and crazy! So this song is definitely on the same page with me. Although I don't know anyone who thinks she's "funny" it's nice to hear a song about evil!Bellatrix that explores her a little while still holding the same opinion I have (she might be a strong female, but I can't agree with or condone her actions, I just can't!). I loved the line about her earning a "T in humanities" :-) And the whole chorus is SO good. It fits in with the Buttermellows' style so very well. "Evil, psycho, baby, you: the queen of being mean"
4. A Foot of Silver- I must admit I had to listen to this one a few times before I could trust that I was interpreting it correctly. Some of the amazing images made it a little difficult to pin down the POV and time/situation of the song at first (I thought it was just me but I had 2 other people listen and they didn't get it after the first listen either). But I'm relatively sure that my first deductions about the song are indeed correct--that it's a song about Harry reacting to Sirius' death (and, as an extension, others who have touched his life who have died). The chorus of this one is amazing, even if I heard it embarrassingly incorrectly at first (it's not bottles of beer! Although that did inspire a ficlet or two in my mind about Neville cleaning off tables & cleaning out bottles at the pub Hannah owns LOL). Anyway, my favorite part of this song is the very last chorus when the guitar is used so incredibly masterfully to express the intense, angry emotions racing through Harry. The hard chords/notes are so strong and loud, and then when the notes drop out completely it's so intense it makes me want to pound something as well. So powerful and emotional and good. *shiver*
5. Hold On- The response I have to this song is very similar to the Mudbloods' Pensieve Full of Unrequited Love. The songs really have a positive, uplifting, beautiful sound & message in them. However, the subject matter makes me cry buckets. I've probably listened to Hold On about 25 times now and not ONCE have I managed to get through it without tearing up (once, I had to stop and break out the tissues and dab at the tear-soaked collar of my shirt LOL). Unlike Pensive, this song is about Lily and James (no Snape featured at all) and (for an especially emotional kicker) Harry. It starts off in Lily's POV and then switches to James'. I love that Lily's attention is drawn to the hair James & Harry have in common and the same goes for James noticing Lily's and Harry's eyes. "In these darkened days when life seems so unfair/Dumbledore had told us to prepare./But if he should ever wake and I'm not there/I don't ever want him to be scared." I'm crying by now, already, but then the music gets even more beautiful and positive/uplifting/comforting, as it goes on to talk about them being with Harry throughout his life, even if they're dead. Which is not only the wish of any loving parent but absolutely what Harry feels. So many times in the books he thinks about his parents and how they're a part of him or how he wishes they were there--there's the mirror and what he hears in his head when dementors are near and his patronus and what comes out of the wands during the graveyard duel and the forest/Hallows-stone (oh Gods, that forest scene! *sob*) not to mention the hundreds of times people say Harry looked like James and/or has Lily's eyes. For characters who were dead throughout the whole book series, they have a very real presence in the stories. Which is why this song isn't just a beautiful bedtime song of Lily & James wishing Harry a good life, and it isn't just an amazing song about how they are fighting the war against evil because they want to make a good world for their son, it's also a touching song that foreshadows emotions and situations that are really at the core of the story and Harry's character. Um, plus I just love James & Lily and first war ANYTHING. This song would be absolutely perfect if not for the use of "lay" instead of "lie" 3 times (but, yeah, I'm a grammar whore. Usually I can ignore it or deal with it in songs, but separate instances within a single song make me cringe a little; I can't stand to listen to that stupid Snow Patrol "Chasing Cars" song for that reason). Anyway, it's just that tiny thing. Otherwise, it is an amazing song and a kicker to end the album with. I love the song as it is, but I wonder how it would sound in a duet. I'm such a sucker for good WRock duets.
I highly recommend this disc to... well, just about everyone!
Also, the demo disc came personalized to me--um, how awesome is that?! *hugs it* I just had to scan it in below.
The sound quality isn't perfect (I can hear the white noise in the background at the beginning/end of tracks and a few of the lyrics could be a little easier to make out) but I definitely wouldn't expect it to be (it's a demo). And I must admit I had a VERY hard time understanding the lyrics when I was listening at work, where the sound has to be turned down low so it can't be heard outside my office. But once I got the CD into my car CD player and was able to crank up the volume and really concentrate on what I was listening to. And, thus, I entered the honeymoon stage with the CD (where you just listen to it over and over and over again).
I'm at a loss for words when trying to describe the style. It's low, rich, and soulful. The Buttermellows' sound is so perfectly balanced with exceptional lyrics (I'm a lyrics whore). The two work together so well to create a great collection of songs.
1. Never Been so High- This is a nice first song. It's Metawrock and it's kind of fun to hear about something I can sort of relate to (hanging with HP fans at meetings/cons) and, at the same time, can't relate to at all because I'm a WRock fangirl (TM House of Black) not a WRocker. So it's a neat perspective to hear a song about. And it's a lovely song- fun and simple. And who wouldn't love music & butterbeer? heehee
2. One Last Scar- This might be my top 10 favorite WRock songs ever. It's no secret that Remus Lupin is my favorite Harry Potter character, and this is an amazing song sung to him by Sirius. Okay, so... I'm a self-confessed puppy-shipper. Remus/Sirius was my OTP even before I read the books and knew who the characters were (thanks to fanfiction I read, which was the reason I picked up the Harry Potter books in the first place). So when I get a song sung by Sirius to Remus, talking about Remus' love life/outlook on life/situation, I turn into a whimpering, excited, fangirly puddle of happy. Perhaps the lines "when you'd forgiven me/for the prank I knew/I knew we'd be special" isn't supposed to mean what my puppy-shipping mind likes to believe it means, but I'm allowed to interpret it any way I like; that's the beauty of music/art. And there's just something about Sirius's voice coming back to Remus even in a non-slashy sort of way, telling him to be brave again and live his life and accept the love of someone who wants to love him... telling him that Harry needs him and to ignore the moon & stars (and what he is). Seriously, this is SUCH a beautiful song that expresses exactly what my wishes for book 6 Remus are. And it's packed FULL of fantastic lines about Remus being a prefect amongst the rebels, the Marauders taking care of Remus, of Remus & Sirius not trusting each other (thinking each was the spy/traitor). It's got Marauder goodness, hurt/comfort goodness, romance, and a chorus which is so uplifting and reassuring--I don't know how Remus could possibly listen to this and NOT take the advice. As an aside, I was glad to finally read the lyrics and hear that the line is "live life as stable as you possibly can" instead of "live life as a stable" which doesn't make any sense. LOL
3. Queen of Mean- At a recent DADA meeting, several people identified Bellatrix as their favorite female character in the series. I'm a Hufflepuff so I have a very intense respect of loyalty as a trait. But... I totally can't get on board with respecting or liking Bellatrix. She is cruel and crazy! So this song is definitely on the same page with me. Although I don't know anyone who thinks she's "funny" it's nice to hear a song about evil!Bellatrix that explores her a little while still holding the same opinion I have (she might be a strong female, but I can't agree with or condone her actions, I just can't!). I loved the line about her earning a "T in humanities" :-) And the whole chorus is SO good. It fits in with the Buttermellows' style so very well. "Evil, psycho, baby, you: the queen of being mean"
4. A Foot of Silver- I must admit I had to listen to this one a few times before I could trust that I was interpreting it correctly. Some of the amazing images made it a little difficult to pin down the POV and time/situation of the song at first (I thought it was just me but I had 2 other people listen and they didn't get it after the first listen either). But I'm relatively sure that my first deductions about the song are indeed correct--that it's a song about Harry reacting to Sirius' death (and, as an extension, others who have touched his life who have died). The chorus of this one is amazing, even if I heard it embarrassingly incorrectly at first (it's not bottles of beer! Although that did inspire a ficlet or two in my mind about Neville cleaning off tables & cleaning out bottles at the pub Hannah owns LOL). Anyway, my favorite part of this song is the very last chorus when the guitar is used so incredibly masterfully to express the intense, angry emotions racing through Harry. The hard chords/notes are so strong and loud, and then when the notes drop out completely it's so intense it makes me want to pound something as well. So powerful and emotional and good. *shiver*
5. Hold On- The response I have to this song is very similar to the Mudbloods' Pensieve Full of Unrequited Love. The songs really have a positive, uplifting, beautiful sound & message in them. However, the subject matter makes me cry buckets. I've probably listened to Hold On about 25 times now and not ONCE have I managed to get through it without tearing up (once, I had to stop and break out the tissues and dab at the tear-soaked collar of my shirt LOL). Unlike Pensive, this song is about Lily and James (no Snape featured at all) and (for an especially emotional kicker) Harry. It starts off in Lily's POV and then switches to James'. I love that Lily's attention is drawn to the hair James & Harry have in common and the same goes for James noticing Lily's and Harry's eyes. "In these darkened days when life seems so unfair/Dumbledore had told us to prepare./But if he should ever wake and I'm not there/I don't ever want him to be scared." I'm crying by now, already, but then the music gets even more beautiful and positive/uplifting/comforting, as it goes on to talk about them being with Harry throughout his life, even if they're dead. Which is not only the wish of any loving parent but absolutely what Harry feels. So many times in the books he thinks about his parents and how they're a part of him or how he wishes they were there--there's the mirror and what he hears in his head when dementors are near and his patronus and what comes out of the wands during the graveyard duel and the forest/Hallows-stone (oh Gods, that forest scene! *sob*) not to mention the hundreds of times people say Harry looked like James and/or has Lily's eyes. For characters who were dead throughout the whole book series, they have a very real presence in the stories. Which is why this song isn't just a beautiful bedtime song of Lily & James wishing Harry a good life, and it isn't just an amazing song about how they are fighting the war against evil because they want to make a good world for their son, it's also a touching song that foreshadows emotions and situations that are really at the core of the story and Harry's character. Um, plus I just love James & Lily and first war ANYTHING. This song would be absolutely perfect if not for the use of "lay" instead of "lie" 3 times (but, yeah, I'm a grammar whore. Usually I can ignore it or deal with it in songs, but separate instances within a single song make me cringe a little; I can't stand to listen to that stupid Snow Patrol "Chasing Cars" song for that reason). Anyway, it's just that tiny thing. Otherwise, it is an amazing song and a kicker to end the album with. I love the song as it is, but I wonder how it would sound in a duet. I'm such a sucker for good WRock duets.
I highly recommend this disc to... well, just about everyone!
