It is great to have The Telepathic Butterflies back. It has been 14 long years since the magnificent Wow & Flutter, an album that has recently had a reissue and is essential listening by the way. The Winnipeg quartet have regularly been lumped in with Power Pop.
This may because they were on the Rainbow Quartz label, but they are more expansive than that and particularly so here. There is still the Power Pop laced with elements of Psych Pop on show, indeed the front part of the album is particularly wonderful Psych Pop, but Plan B goes much much further.
This is Pop Rock and incredibly easy to listen to Pop Rock. At times, it sounds like a Brit Pop album, not the overblown nonsense that always seemed to appear in the headlights, but the miles better stuff that neared the fringes and emphasised the Guitar Pop rather than the retro.
The album will suit followers well, it is band in I Don't Hear A Single territory, dominating the middle ground. Rejean Ricard's vocals are a joy to listen to, he has a voice that you will take to instantly, melodic and perfectly suiting the wall to wall riffs.
The arrangements will absolutely hook you. There is a sweet spot that The Telepathic Butterflies occupy, a sweet spot if you like, somewhere between say Squeeze and Cotton Mather and I can't think of a more perfect seat to sit on.
Songs are never overdone, the band never try to be flash or go for grab all plank spanking. If anything the songs are understated, concentrating on the melody and top notch arrangements and the sheer listenability of what they offer up.
It is getting late in the day for 2023 albums, reviews for inclusion in our Best 100 Albums Of The Year end after tomorrow. Plan B is a cracking album, pushing all the buttons that we love. It may be being reviewed at the death, but it is a sure fire thing for inclusion in the Best 100.
You can listen to and buy the album here. If you haven't got Wow & Fluttewr in your collection, there is also the opportunity to grab that at the same time.
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