Platform Records: March 2009

Starting with 20th Century Fox-esque snare drums, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re about to be hit by something dramatic and cinematic, grandiose even. Instead, you’re nodding your head before you realise it, thinking how unlikely it is that the bastard child of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foals should sound this good. Shades of Franz Ferdinand disco and latter-day Marmaduke Duke find their way in there throughout the album, making it irresistibly funky and danceable, the only criticism being that it never really leaves this comfort zone with any success. Hopefully, though, this is ground that will be explored in a second album sometime soon.
Written by: Niki Boyle (***)
http://www.list.co.uk/article/22580-fit-the-paradigm-jack-butler
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''The Stirling-based four-piece have been attracting plenty of attention
for their inventive brand of guitar-led post-punk. And quite rightly so too.
Tracks like 'From Plea To Paper', 'Velvet Prose' and current single 'Surgery
1984' are an edgy but hooked filled re-imagining of a sound that began way
back with Echo & The Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes and Orange Juice.
Simply fabulous.''
(* * * * Tim Barr - News of the World)
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If Jack Butler want to distance themselves from fellow Scots Franz Ferdinand, choosing a man's name for their angular indie-rock wasn't the best idea.
Shame, really, as this Stirling quartet are a far different proposition to their colleagues once you get beyond the jangling riffs and danceable bass shuffles. For a start, it's pacier and more aggressive, with Liam Kelly spitting his vocals as opposed to singing them, and there are math-rock, Foals-esque elements to 'Hit it out the park, son' and 'Velvet Prose' that enable Jack Butler to sparkle. There are no huge hits here, but plenty to get the pulse racing.
Rock Sound magazine (Mike Haydock) (7 out of 10)
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From the tin-drum-roll opening of 'Hit It Out the Park, Son', there is a distinct energy to Jack Butler’s debut album 'Fit the Paradigm'. While some have likened this energy to early 80’s punk, I found this Stirling based four-piece band to sound more akin to Kaiser Chiefs, but with 50’s rockabilly flare.

Their music is powerful, yet superbly composed to never overwhelm Liam Kelly’s vocals, and maintains a vibrant energy throughout the album. While 'Hit It Out the Park, Son' was their debut single from this album, I found myself more taken by its follow-up,'Are You A Hustler?'.

Chris Lowdon (Guitar), Allan Conry (Bass), Greg Moodie (Drums/Percussion) all show a fine level of skill and versatility. This ensures that their music never becomes stale throughout this twelve track album, and maintains the listener's constant interest.

Although I am generally disinterested in indie-rock bands such as the Kaiser Chiefs, I found Jack Butler's energy, extraordinary talent, and impressive lyrics to make an impression. This is a great album that fans of this genre of music will love: even those that are not may appreciate this album. Give Jack Butler a chance, for you may even surprise yourself.

Reviewed By: Peter Allison

http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Review.aspx?id=6757

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The long awaited debut album from the Stirling four-piece has most definately been worth the wait.
Opener - new single 'Hit it out the park,son' - combines pulsing beats with funky guitar licks and infectious bass, paving the way for an album of electro post punk 80's retro sounds frog-marched into the present.

Each track has its own head-nodding, foot tapping, catchy infectiousness that defies you not to dance. Frantic drumming, furious strumming, guitar layering and a heap of reverb meet in a mash-up of pop/indie/disco/funk for tracks 'Are you a hustler?' and 'Boy V Beast', meanwhile the grandiose 'Surgery 1984' and the Mexican-tequila-filled fun of 'Ostinatos' shows the lads have a cocktail of talents to be explored.

Quite simply a belter. For fans of Talking Heads, Editors, Bloc Party, The Rapture, Franz Ferdinand.

Katy Whitelaw - Music News Scotland.
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Jack Butler - Fit The Paradigm (Whimsical) 11/05/2009
T: Wow, this sounds like Robert Smith on a crateful of speed.N: Umm, well that's left our readers with absolutely nothing from which to draw.T: Ummm, what about leaving them with the image of Robert Smith on a crateful of speed?N: I guess that's one image I briefly toyed with, but to no avail, as Robert is now really getting too old to be toying with speed, let alone a crateful. Let me start, Jack Butler, a four piece from Sterling and described as "one of the freshest bands in Scotland" not forgetting to add "at the moment", as they have a hell of a lot of competition here, take Aztec Camera (the most immediate reference), Trash Can Sinatras, or maybe Orange Juice. But one thing's for sure, these guys are not excusing their harking back to post-punk 80's vibe and who could blame them?T: They sound like a train has crashed through your ceiling and is driving around your walls flashing disco lights while all the nightporters and commuters dive out of the carriages and do little dances around your bed. Which is great when they're nice looking totty but not so good when they're heifers. Most of the time though, they're pretty damn attractive.N: And this is the over-riding thought this band conjure up?T: Yep. 9/10
http://www.atomicduster.com/albumreviews/albums05_09/index.php
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By Amy MacBeath • May 9th, 2009 • Category: jralbums
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.
http://www.isthismusic.com/jack-butler

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Stirling four-piece Jack Butler made their first release in 2005, catching the attention of the music journalists, who drew comparisons with the Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand, amongst others. Winning the BBC Radio 1 Demo Derby in April 2006 lead to more publicity and their performing at T in the Park in the July of that year. Airplay on XFM and support slots with such notables as Glasvegas and Florence and the Machine mean they have been a busy bunch of guys recently. And so it is to their debut album release we now turn, the latest of their many achievements.
This album kicks off with 'Hit it Out the Park, Son': a mega drum roll, pulsing guitars and a funky bass. Immediately noticable is the influence fellow Scots Franz Ferdinand have had on Jack Butler, but the band have their own upbeat style and this is a great opener - catchy, cheery and thoroughly feelgood. Second track 'From Plea to Paper' has a feel of The Smiths to it but slightly less studenty. The funky bass carries the track along with a quirky guitar being picked like a good 'un in the background. There is a proliferation of lyrics, similar to 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)' by REM.
Track 3 is the first single to be released from this album: 'Are You a Hustler?'. It has received great reviews already from our very own allgigs.co.uk and has echoes of the 80s on it, featuring some groovy falsetto vocals which remind me of The Communards' 'Don't Leave Me This Way'. Next follows one of those intro-type tracks 'Ode'. A piano track, the perfect 15-second straight guy to the incredibly funky following track 'Boy vs Beast'. The funky bass and groovy drumming is back on this, a track which lyrically recalls the Arctic Monkeys and is infectiously danceable.
Title track 'Just Fit the Paradigm' is a tale of teenagers and peer pressure - "these kids will buy anything/drink anything/raise our glasses in toast to our peers" featuring amongst the lyrics. Following this, 'Let's Testify!' sees Jack Butler exploring a more soulful and expressive vein. Guitar sounding like that of U2 on 'Where The Streets Have No Name', and the vocals on the emotive refrain of "The time is nigh/Let's testify!" do not sound unlike the Sainted Bono himself.
A couple of tracks later are a lovely pairing of 'Bushido Codes' and 'He Got No Name!'. Both having a slightly Japanese feel to them, the guitar backing is filled with individually picked strings, giving a staccato and jagged feel to the tracks. The bass smooths this down and the hi-hat in the drumbeat is irresistible. I couldn't keep still while listening to these tracks. Opening the next track are some synths which give a more sweeping effect to the sound of the band; a less art school sound and more stadium rock feel to it. I could almost hear the screams and whoops during the twinkly quiet section towards the close of the track. Art school groove is back for the penultimate song with another Smiths-esque offering. Album closer 'Apocalypse Clocks' starts with some clanging chimes and unaccompanied guitars and moves on with pulsing beats and a plea to "replicate and populate". It comes to a rythmic climax and then calms for a string finish. Sirens can be heard over the end of the song which confused me greatly: I was listening to this in the park and thought it was on the street outside initially...
All in all, this is a promising debut and is irresistible in its cheeriness and upbeat danceability. I would strongly urge anyone who has a sense of summer on its way to go out and purchase this album!
Caroline McCarthy Rating: 4 STARS http://www.allgigs.co.uk/

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I’ve reviewed a couple of singles in the past by Jack Butler (a group not a solo artist), so I definitely had a level of expectation around them as far as this debut album goes, even with that expectation though they have managed to take me by surprise by how good this is.
While a band producing funky off kilter art-pop isn’t in itself a new concept, they have managed to bring something fresh, raw and inventive to the table on Fit The Paradigm, which sets them well apart from 99% of their competitors.
The album opens with the irresistable recent single Hit It Out The Park Son and you think that may be a high point too soon in the album. They don’t peak with that track though, instead they continue to climb throughout, scaling new heights with the dance floor bothering Are You A Hustler?, the brilliant Boy Vs Beast and Let’s Testify which has a more reflective edge to it.
A band that so far have been massively overlooked for some reason, don’t fall into the trap of the masses, instead get on this and take this four piece and their album to your heart…and your dancing feet!
The album is out now through Whimsical Records. Beat Surrender Rating: 4 stars
http://www.thebeatsurrender.co.uk/daily/recordbox/fit-the-paradigm-jack-butler (4 stars)
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Jack Butler - CD - Fit The Paradigm

It's indie Jim, but not as we know it!! 'Fit The Paradigm', the debut album by Sterling popsters Jack Butler, is infused with so many modern influences that it's hard to describe just where it falls in the genre stakes - it's defo indie biased, it's frantic funk, it's blatant pop, it's Caribbean nuanced, it's Afro-esque, it's all that and more - could it be that Jack Butler's music is itself that musical paradigm that they ask you to fit?!!
Whatever, Jack Butler certainly offer value for money; this mighty fine album is a thirteen tracker and includes their last two singles, 'Boy vs Beast' and 'Are You A Hustler?' as well as their latest offering, 'Hit It Out The Park, Son'. Jack Butler not only hit the spot musically, there also appears to be a gently comedic side to this bunch too; I sense a real feeling of fun and frivolity nestling in with the more serious music-making side - it's a recipe that certainly seems to work for these guys cuz they sound totally in unison and absolutely single-minded regarding the business in hand which, of course, is making damn good music for the discerning public - whilst having a bloody good time doing it!
'Fit The Paradigm' beautifully captures Jack Butler's slightly retro, ever-so-slightly electro-tinged, guitar rich indie way; theirs is a clever blend of energetic instrumental ebullience and poignantly worded serious-mindedness - Jack Butler have things to say but I don't really think it matters if you get the bigger picture or not - more important is the general feel of Jack Butler's up-lifting and often quirky music - pure and simple!
Jack Butler successfully mix African-esque guitar refrains with modernistic funked-up western rhythms and Caribbean influences with jazzy vibes as pop collides head-on with indie and the result is a rather splendid sounding art-music that errs on the pop side of the fence but pays homage to some of the less popular but equally influential forms. 'Fit The Paradigm' by Jack Butler is musical energy personified, a positively knee-jerking, arse-twitching melee of youthfully driven sounds that contain an inner maturity and an intelligent outlook - damn fine work if you ask me!!
Peter J Brown aka toxic pete (http://www.toxicpete.co.uk/)
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HIT IT OUT THE PARK, SON * single of the week *

:: Jack Butler ::
13 April 2009 / Whimsical / 1 Trk CD + Download
By Milton Trebuchet

Scottish extreme four for the floor indie hitters Jack Butler ( a band not a boy), knock off your block with this riotous attack of coarse 1980 pop band guitar shuffling. Butler distil the early days of live indie band disco with an infectious energy that verges on the violent, as they strum with a furious friction underneath vocals that cut deeply into this vigorous display of dangerous attacking lo-fi funk. “Hit It Out The Park, Son” is maybe the first record of 2009 to really embrace the post new romantic world of Postcard Records and for once, put a proper, solid guitar wielding foot on the dancefloor. Excellent.

MMMM ½ http://www.music-dash.co.uk/releases/release.asp?item=6101
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Still irritatingly applying a single name to a quartet, Glasgow`s Jack Butler will shortly release their debut long player `Fit the Paradigm` and this track takes the sage advice of time-conscious football coaches the land over and applies it to every day life. That is, simply hoofing your problems out of the stadium of life is often the best tactic we have. Musically the band are on top form too with a heady mix of wah wah funk, disco-tinged rhythms and bellowed, call to arm vocals. It`s yet another largely undiscovered Jack Butler treat and builds on the impressive early work of previous singles `Velvet Prose` and `Are You a Hustler?`
Richard Brown http://www.culturedeluxe.com/artistprofiles.asp?id=3536&type=singlediscography
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FIT THE PARADIGM * album of the week * Jack Butler :: 27 April 2009 / Whimsical / 13 Trk CD By JA Jack Butler have only been knocking around for a couple of years and they’ve had little opportunity to get their records out. After a series of exciting singles, their debut album it seems, is worth all of the wait. From the infectious tempo of "Hit It Out The Park Son" ,the album really never fails to deliver as the snapped beats and surging sparkle of clean guitar arpeggios stand at the fore of a staggering series of bass movements. "Fit The Paradigm" is the album that really has connected us with the bookish indie of the very early 80’s, from Postcard’s Josef K to the energetic bluster of Haircut 100 and The Higsons. This the part of musical history that only British Sea Power and newer bands like Everything Everything have somehow partially captured in their repertoire. Jack Butler take things a step further with their accomplished web of guitar flourishes and amazing melodies. Their slower moments aren’t nearly as exciting, yet the album’s title track is something of an a epic, with a gothic dusting and some keen instrumental peaks. "Ostinatos" finds Jack Butler again able to spin their intricate note picking and off tempo breaks, between some positively exciting sessions of frantic beats and more outstanding guitar work. "Fit The Paradigm" may sound to some listeners at a first glance, like a lot of other retro-indie hopefuls out there, but I guarantee you that this is something altogether different and far more radical than you’d imagine. It may even be on the border of a classic. MMMM ½ http://www.music-dash.co.uk/releases/release.asp?item=6133
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JACK BUTLER **** Fit The Paradigm (WHIMSICAL RECORDS)
While their name might be more fitting for a struggling singer-songwriter than a four-piece indie band from Stirling, Jack Butler hardly set a foot wrong on this, their debut album. Pulsing with a lively rhythm that many of their peers would do well to emulate, Fit The Paradigm sounds like Vampire Weekend remixing Scottish art-rockers Franz Ferdinand – with some 80s post-punk production values thrown in for good measure.
Previous singles ‘Boy Vs Beast’ and ‘Velvet Prose’ are both present and correct, but what’s most noticeable is how far Jack Butler have come in such a short time. The reworked versions of older songs now sparkle with a fizzing energy that has always been part of their live show, while new tracks such as first single ‘Are You A Hustler?’ and the Franz-like album opener ‘Hit It Out The Park, Son’ are both instantly memorable and rewarding of further listening.
In fact what’s most remarkable about Jack Butler’s debut album is the self-confidence that infuses every soaring chorus and jagged guitar riff. When your first effort’s this good, though, that confidence looks entirely justified.
Dan Coxon (http://www.rock-n-reel.co.uk/)
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The art rockers from Stirling release debut album 'Fit the paradigm' on April 27th. This fast-paced guitar and bouncy beat could get Gordon Brown smiling. * * * Rick Fulton - Daily Record
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We were there for the Scottish four piece’s early demos so it’s satisfying to see the band lead by singer/guitarist Liam Kelly release their debut album. The obvious bracket to put the band in are followers of Franz Ferdinand’s art pop. They like jangly guitars, tight rhythms and almost shouted vocals. But Franz followed Edinburgh-band Josef K and Jack Butler are a more distilled version of the originators. Album opener Hit It Out the Park, Son has a driving chimming guitar that must make the fingers bleed and some solid bass from Allan Conry. It’s one of the best songs from a new Scots act this year. What’s almost unique about Jack Butler is they have a sound but don’t just play the same song with each new tune. There is a depth to each of their tunes which echoes early Orange Juice in Boy Vs Beast but with the pop sensibility of Haircut 100 on He Got No Game! Or Altered Images on Let’s Testify!There are plenty of young Scots acts hoping for their break. 2010 deserves to be Jack Bulter’s.
Rick Fulton - Daily Record

Wednesday 18 March 2009

Jack Butler - reviews of debut album 'Fit the paradigm' and their new single 'Hit it out the park,son'.

The Shermans - Reviews of 'Venom'

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