Butterfly Child
Hit It! Records
Since the release of 1993's Onomatopoeia, Butterfly Child has garnered gushing praise from pop fans from London to Little Rock. Belfast-born Joe Cassidy is the heart of Butterfly Child, imbuing his airy pop confections with a lovely dose of soul. These are soaring, beautiful songs, the kind of music you might hear in your head when experiencing a particularly lovely sunset. They shimmer and sparkle, buoyed by delicate guitar riffs and Cassidy's gorgeous voice.
Butterfly Child's lush production and pristine pop arrangements have drawn comparisons to everyone from the Beach Boys to Jeff Buckley to Spacemen 3. There are definitely nods to crystalline '70s production values and sprawling theatricality, but the heart of Cassidy's music lies in his mastery of the simple pop song. "x:celcius," from Onomatopoeia, fashions a glistening song around a single, repetitive, New Wave guitar hook, layering on percussion and more guitars before evaporating into the cosmos.
In 1996, Cassidy visited Chicago for a three-day weekend of performing and recording. In 1997, he relocated to Chicago from England and set to work finishing the previous year's recordings. By the time Soft Explosives was finished in 1998, Cassidy had employed the talents of four different drummers, one bassist, three different guitarists, a trombone player, and a string quartet from the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Consequently, the songs on Soft Explosives drip with luxuriant orchestration and dramatic tension. But "Drunk on Beauty" and "Don't Talk to Me" are equally mesmerizing and heart-wrenching when Cassidy performs them with only his acoustic guitar. Prepare yourself for the perfect pop song.
Jeanne Acceturo
last updated:
08/10/01
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