Mehek’s Music Wednesday – Butterfly Boucher | MuchMusic.com

Mehek’s Music Wednesday – Butterfly Boucher

March 31st, 2010

Butterfly Boucher

Back in my day (not that that day is that far off…cough) it was kind of difficult to find good female indie pop music. Well, I found it difficult, but I also find opening a can of tuna difficult. Don’t judge.

ANYWAY. When I find something good, I tend to hold onto it… but today I’m in a giving mood (high fives included), so I share the Australian native-Butterfly Boucher with you, who has had quite the roller coaster of a career, and produces hella good music.

The middle child of seven sisters, Butterfly’s (and yes, that is her real name) fascination with creative outlets and music began at the age of ten, where she found a friend in her four-track recorder and learned how to play all sorts of instruments. The bug bit her sister as well, who was in a band later on with Butterfly playing bass guitar.

Encouraged to work as a solo artist, Butterfly left the band and shipped herself off to England, bumming on couches and spending all of her money on a laptop to record a series of demo tapes, which she sent out as often as possible. After getting in touch with an industry representative, her demo tapes were slightly refined, resulting in her debut, Flutterby.

The story goes that A&M Records, Butterfly’s label, failed to promote her album effectively. Though her songs appeared on shows like One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomy, she didn’t exactly capture the market as she hoped, so she worked extra hard to connect with fans, often staying after shows and holding long meet-and-greets. During this time, she opened for Sarah McLachlan, a milestone in her tumultuous career.

This is where her story gets interesting: A&M pushed Butterfly to work on a new record, believing that Flutterby wouldn’t capture the audience they needed. So, she cooped herself in her apartment and spent a year recording most of the album, and then…nada. Zip. Nothing.

Um. A&M, why were you such a jerkface? They again did not know how to sell the album, so they shipped off this songstress to the UK to re-record, and re-record, and re-record so it sounded more American. Then the UK label said it was too American to sell there…what’s a gal to do!?

Butterfly Boucher waited 3 years, heard nothing, and finally independently released her sophomore disc, Scary Fragile. Her critics often call her music “Too indie for pop and too pop for indie”, but sometimes the best things can’t be categorized!

She’s kind of got a No Angel-Dido vibe about her vocals, and the best way I can compare her music is to something like Tegan and Sara, but a little more minimalistic. Carefully constructed acoustic guitar patterns define Flutterby, making it sound more raw than Scary Fragile. Lyrically, however, the latter is much stronger, especially in songs like “Gun for a Tongue”, “Scary Fragile”, and “A Bitter Song”.

And yes, I would totally recommend blasting her music while driving on a sunny day. While you’re at it, get me an Ice Cap, would ya?

Butterfly Boucher is also among several artists on the bill for this year’s Lilith Fair, so see if she’ll be stopping in your city! You can check out Butterfly Boucher’s MySpace here to listen to some of her music, and then fall in love. Trufax.

Hit me feedback in the comments or at mehekmusicmonday@gmail.com!

Tags: Butterfly Boucher, Dido, grey's anatomy, Lillith Fair, Mehek Music Mondays, One Tree Hill, Sarah McLachlan, tegan and sara