Clearly a band with a lot of fun about them, Stirling four piece Jack Butler’s debut album Fit the Paradigm is a whirl of jaggy riffs, manic drum beats, harmonious vocals and well, shouting. Equip with clever hooks, catchy choruses and a quirky electro gloss their music has a refreshing quality to it that hasn’t been heard from indie bands of late.
So drum roll please – the first single from the album Hit it out the park, son which, yes, starts with a drum roll is very similar to Franz Ferdinand with more of a kick with frantic guitars, rolling bass and Liam Kelly’s spat-out vocals giving it a clunkiness which kind of works.
‘Velvet Prose’ is a catchier track with the band layering on twitching guitars and joining in with vocals, although it does go on longer than perhaps it should. Scratchy guitar’s and more chanting on ‘Are You a Hustler?’ ensure it’s firmly stuck in your head after even one listen with a bit more attitude than some of the other tracks. ‘Apocalypse Clocks’, beginning with aptly placed clocks, starts off more atmospheric for what is a more brooding offering as Kelly tries to lower his voice. The melody is a gentler one that the twanging of the previous tracks giving the lyrics a bit more of a chance to breath and the listener can enjoy the mix of harmonies and hooks normally produced by an indie-rock band.
Not knowing what to expect on a first listen the album definitely makes for a good listen although perhaps some of it is a bit over complicated as Jack Butler try to go all out with their jumble of beats, synths and angular guitars. They have a great attitude in approach in their music though, it’s not overly pretentious and their experimentation even manages to bring a bit of funk, reminiscent of Bloc Party or Foals.
Basically Jack Butler have taken the usual recipe for indie, shaken it up, flipped it upside down and turned up the volume – if that makes sense to you then so will their music.