The Voluntary Butler Scheme – Trading Things In

The Voluntary Butler Scheme is Rob Jones, a one-man band hailing from the West Midlands. Trading Things In, is a three song showcase of quirky Englishness, psych tinged sunny bubblegum pop, not unlike another similar mix of one-man band, quirky Englishness, psych tinged sunny bubblegum pop, Jim Noir.

‘Trading Things In’ has a fuzzy electric guitar with acoustic laid over, playing a very obvious unsubtle rhythm, drums, hand claps, organ and harmonica join in the fun as Jones peals off lyrics like, ‘I want to trade my jumbo jet/In for a paper plane‘, and ‘Just like coffee and tea/I need you regularly‘. It’s a glorious jumble of sounds that gets whipped into an unbelievably catchy chorus of ‘Baby don’t go for anyone/I said baby don’t go for anyone, else‘, acoustic matching the vocal melody, and that unsubtle rhythm driving deep into your gut, pop heaven. ‘The Eiffel Tower And The BT Tower’ is another carnival of sound, melodic bass, blasting trumpets, xylophone, strummed acoustic (again), and a garage rock electric guitar effect. The whole thing sounds like it’s being performed in a village hall, a close echo, almost metallic, on the vocals and instruments. The lead guitar plays a 50s inspired melody, supporting the lyrical direction, which is pointed at a ‘girl I can’t ignore‘, a sincere “I’m in love” song, with amusing imagery, ‘And like when you said you loved the songs of the Pet Shop Boys/But hated the way they sound/So I played them all out for you on just guitar and kazoo‘.

‘Hot Air Balloon Heart’ finishes things off with a spare (by Rob Jones’ standards) ballad of yearning, acoustic and slide guitar, an ancient sounding keyboard and subtle brushing on the drums. It feels a little out of place, and maybe a little less interesting, than the previous two songs, which is probably due to the first two tracks sounding zesty and refreshing, whereas the last feels a bit by the book and a touch too miserable. If Jones can come up with more songs like the first two from this EP, then hot damn, release an album already!
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Links
The Voluntary Butler Scheme [myspace] [20 questions with...]