ALBUM REVIEW: Butterfly Mind – Tim Bowness
TIM BOWNESS is known for his cinematic and progressive ventures with the likes of NO-MAN, but has an expansive solo career that boasts a colourful back catalogue. The latest instalment of his work, Butterfly Mind, an alt-rock psychedelic wonderland of lust ideas and creative executions.
The overall theme of Butterfly Mind feels both plush and warm, and somewhat off hand. There are some unsettling moments by the likes of Say Your Goodbyes, Pt. 1 &Pt. 2, where the overall tone is very experimental and intentional. The concentrated nature of these songs works in its favour, and will pull new audiences that are inclined towards the likes of DREAM THEATER and MUSE, while adding something very different from those artists to that orchestral weirdness.
Always The Stanger plays with the mailability of music, shifting from guitar phrases to droning ambiences that chitter and whizz around the echoing vocals. That’s one thing this record really does well, mixing and arranging the most effective vocals for the moment. They work more as an instrument than just a lyrical tool, and it’s lovely to hear.
There’s plenty of instrumental diversity on Butterfly Mind, both in its tone and the instruments used. We Feel has an almost post-industrial feel to it, the symbols and chord progressions feeling tangy and sharp, while whistling of reed and strings works on another, softer plane.
Dark Nevada Dream is a little serene moment that shuffles along unoffensively, crisp clean guitars and some pretty organ keys feel like a chilled summer afternoon jam. It’s all very nice, but there’s absolutely no need for this to be over eight minutes long, and it goes from feel like a pleasant moment to a particularly jazzy call centre queue. It’s Easier To Love in it’s purely musical sense is pretty relaxing and inoffensive. However, while it is very heartfelt, it’s a little too on the nose lyrically. By being so plain and upfront with that it’s saying that it feels a little cringe. However, the reed work is really on point, and gets to the emotional heart, where the lyrics sit very surface level.
It really does feel a shame that there’s so many glimmers of magic through this record, but nothing solid enough to focus on entirely. Lost Player keeps to its namesake, being airy and playful, the modulation in the keys balancing between whimsey and sorrow for a bitter sweet feeling; Only A Fool finds itself as part of a sixteen bit, retro game feel. The overall ideas are really interesting, but so little of Butterfly Mind has any grit or loftiness to it that more often than not, it’s hard to stay passionately engaged. Perhaps this album is one that needs to be experienced in a live setting, but the studio version, while more than adequately put together, is really missing something.
Glitter Fades also has the potential to be so much more than it is, the intricacies of the melody and the vocals touch so close on being great, but the overall feel is just too middle of the road. Even the slow, calming tones of the final track About The Light That Hits The Forest Floor fails to make it’s tranquil mark, even with such a layered instrumental outro, purely because it becomes part of the homogeny of the same lack lustre feel of the record as a whole.
The pedigree of musicianship on Butterfly Mind has to be recognised and applauded. While TIM BOWNESS has clearly an unending reach in where his music can go, this time around it feels all too safe and meandering to leave a mark.
Rating: 6/10
Butterfly Mind is set for release on August 5th via InsideOut Music.
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