Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Charlie Butter Fly
Label: Self-released
Release: 2014
Length: 44:05
Rating: 3.5/5
Charlie Butter Fly are a rock trio from Kočevje who dropped their studio debut, ‘’Še vedno živ’’, at the end of 2014. For the production the guys turned to the seasoned Dejan Radičević, a big Steel Panther fan, a fact that played no real part in the case of our fine Kočevje lads. The band works independently, so the album came out as a self-release.
»Še vedno živ« proves that Charlie Butter Fly are strong songwriters. They know how to put a tune together! Eleven tracks carry a hearty blend of in-your-face rock racket that sounds crunchy, smeared-out garage and upbeat, and embodies an effectively graded build-up of moods from dramatized verses into explosive chorus hooks. The punk premise comes through, especially thanks to the gloomy, mid-pitched, manly vocals that react in a very Morrison-esque way, and if we’re looking for comparisons back home, it pulls closest to Borut Marolt of Niet. The style and sound of the guitar riffs even fleetingly bring The Clash to mind. Charlie Butter Fly manage to develop a musical trail that’s unmistakably their own. As self-taught, homegrown guys they pull this off very well, and »Še vedno živ« definitely reaches for the pedigree of a musical oddball. The band also develops a nice amount of musical substance in the songs, and in those moments the mood flips too, which keeps everything unfolding at high tension!
The album shows the band’s allegiance to old-school rock acts (The Clash), there are pinches of blues, the playing is confidently tight, nailed on the first take, with no after-the-fact studio polish or kitsch, straight in your face, uncompromising and cutting. The guitar often leans on a fat wah-wah effect, which fills more space in the background of the sound picture (the backing). The chemistry between the trio is obviously right, and the crew, made up of Klemen Kirašič (guitar, vocals), Tadej Kirašič (drums) and Miha Rupnik (bass), is cooking up a proper chemical rock’n’ roll revolt.
The guys can be extremely sarcastic in the lyrics too, if not downright ironic, and their humor can make you laugh till you cry. In short, everything a well-packed rock’n’ roll firecracker needs, one that hits you right between the eyes with a goofy grin, while leaving you with the feeling that you honestly don’t know where to file the band, which is very good. They’re building their own identity, after all.
Just one piece of advice. The band is definitely still being tempered, even though it found its musical direction right at the start of its career, something it can safely build on and keep developing. Let’s hope Charlie Butter Fly decide to stick strictly to Slovenian lyrics in the future. They surely speak very good English, no doubt about that, but the singing and the metrical use of English lines are downright dismal, which is a shame, because the English-language songs also have a fair amount of rock potency and bite, yet in the end, those elements don’t even come close to the songs sung in Slovenian!
»Še vedno živ« is gloomy, sure, but it’s played with heart and total devotion to the faith of rock’n’ roll. It works like a live album, and on it Charlie Butter Fly build their recognizable musical dossier, which is typically Slovenian-Kočevje. If we do want some parallels for easier orientation, which of course may do the band an injustice, the atmosphere and musicality occasionally pull toward Niet, and also Dan D, as well as older (punk) rock acts from south of the Kolpa, the ones we remember from the days of our former shared country.
Line-up
Klemen Kirašič – guitar, vocals
Miha Rupnik – bass
Tadej Kirašič – drums
Production
Dejan Radičevič
Tracklist
1. A Child Again
2. Neznanec
3. Poet Teme
4. Še Vedno Živ
5. Zadnja Stran
6. Mala Moja
7. Med Nogami
8. Submarines
9. Pridi K Men
10. The Mirror
11. Rabim Te
