The Voluntary Butler Scheme - Trading Things In

Title track ‘Trading Things In’ is very Noah And The Whale, to lazily quote a British folk band. Meh, it’s a good comparison. Reviews need comparisons. It’s sort of classic-sounding, with simple quirky lyrics (‘just like coffee and tea, I need you regularly’) and straight-forward melodies. There’s familiar melodies throughout, actually. It plays a clever trick of arousing nostalgia. Nostalgia of the summer, perhaps?

It gets very Natty-esque with ‘Arctic Climate’ (there you go, another comparison. We’ll stop pointing them out now). Crisp guitar plucking and breathy vocals make for a good pop song, although there’s a danger in it becoming an ‘advert song’.

There’s a nice change of pace on the EP’s closer ‘Vending Machine’. It shifts gear, mixing muffled vocals, bright guitar and vintage synthesizer that hisses and chirps its way to the end.

The Voluntary Butler Scheme could be another jumper onto the new folk bandwagon, with ‘Heart Too Bored To Beat’ being very akin to Jay Jay Pistolet. Maybe too much. But hey, who cares? It’s not bad; it doesn’t break new ground, it just fits in well with what we already have.