Distribution - AUSTRALIA
Reverberation

 

 

Butterfly 9 - Press


 

Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald
CD Reviews 5th November 2005

Making good mainstream pop music is a bugger of a job. I don't mean esoteric stuff for music critics, nor do I mean chart Spakfilla. I mean the kind of song that can win you over on the radio today, be remembered tomorrow and still mean something to you next week.

The Sydney duo Butterfly 9, Suzy Connolly and Matt Fell, make music that is unashamedly attractive: you can sing it almost immediately; Connolly's voice is buttery and warm; everything sounds fresh and inviting with layers of perfectly pitched backing vocals, crystal clear guitars and lovely little sounds dipping in and out. When the mood is up (I Love The Summertime) you could fair skip along; when the mood deepens (Dorothy) you can almost hear the sigh, and when things turn more complex (Fading Out, Someday When You're Gone, and particularly the utterly gorgeous Lay Your Head Down) you are invited to think and feel.

Best of all though, it sounds just as good, if not better, the fifth or 10th time around. Not odd, not quirky, not throwaway, just very, very good.

Daily Telegraph review
Butterfly 9 – one for the birds
Simon Ferguson, Daily Telegraph 3/11/05
***1/2
The sweet and musical pertnership of Sydney lovebirds Suzy Connolly and Matt Fell is going great on the evidence of this, their second release following last year’s self-titled debut. “I’m going strong, I’m still on top of things,” she sings on I Love the Summertime, which has hit writtne all over it. “We move through the melody, you keep me in time,” she sings on Lay Your Head Down, as her fella Fell harmonises in the background.
It’s romantic crooning to swoon by.
Cute couple, cute album.

themusicnetwork 31st October 2005 wrote:

"Sydney duo butterfly9 have already seen an exciting response to their own brand of sugar sweet pop, with Counting Crows handpicking them as supports, exposure on various teen-market TV shows and burgeoning radio airplay. The Pair have been holed up for the last year recording a huge collection of songs from which they've picked their best to appear on their second album, One For the Birds. The first single is the upbeat and deliciously catchy, I Love The Summertime. A pervading sense of freedom and summer sunshine echoes through this track, with a cruising beat, relaxed rock guitars and Suzy Connolly's voice smooth and seamless. A charming pop track that programmers at Alternative and CHR will find hard to resist!"

Top 5 of '05: Ara Jansen ABC dig internet radio
01/12/2005

I had no pre-conceived notions about this album and pulled it out of a pile and threw it on one afternoon. When it finished, I wanted to play it again and then over the next few weeks found myself reaching for it often. Time has passed and still I find myself seeking it out in the bookcase. I think it must have something to do with that Sunday morning or every afternoon feel; a blanketing comfort which takes you into the day or guides you gently towards the night. Direct, emotional and honest.

I just love her voice, probably for the same reasons I love Olivia Eden, Heather Nova and Aimee Mann. Alongside Connolly, these women can be thoughtful, dreamy and strong in a way which is never overpowering in an organic pop framework.

A record which just hits the spot - regularly.

Time Off Magazine (QLD) 01/12/05
**** (Megan Yarrow)

Suzy Connolly and Matt Fell's airy compositions coast through a continuum of emotion. The lyrics of opening track "Love and Empathy' reveal their keen sense of writerly observation and well honed pop sensibility, while everyone will identify with "I Love The Summertime" and its portrayal of bittersweet solitude (plus cat). Elsewhere, the toe-tapping yearning of "Number On My Wall" and the delicate harmony and pedal steel of "Someday When You're Gone" are unforgettable.

Connolly's honeyed high notes in "MY Little Song" emanate an uplifting gentleness, graceful strings and glockenspiel add intricacy to "Dorothy", while guitar solos in "Fading Out" and "Hey Girl" contain some rocking riffs. Fell's vocals and a dash of keyboard nail the 60's sound in "Mr Glum".

"My Fallen Angel" has a distinctly Crowded House feel and when the waltzing "1,2,3 Down" fades out, it's time for another cup of tea. One For The Birds is a fresh dose of beguiling and versatile originality that's very easy on the ear.

Howzat Inpress Magazine Dec '05

The Whitsundy Times Dec '05


Zack Review Dec '05