The Luck of Eden Hall :: The Butterfly Revolutions, Vol. 2

The Luck of Eden Hall open up to full wingspan on The Butterfly Revolutions, Vol. 2. Calling it a follow-up or a bookend to Vol. 1 seems a misnomer in both cases. A follow-up implies a continuation, and Vol. 2 is certainly that, but it also raises the unspoken whiff of repetition and ‘more of the same.’ The repetition here is of more top-shelf psych pop that doesn’t get bogged down in rehashed self-hoariness. The bar is still set high, high enough that your dessert tray just got fuller with the cookie jar still in reach. This time there are a few more bittersweet offerings than before for you to stick your fingers in and bite into. Bookend maybe, if you want to lump 1 & 2 together into some sort of concept outing, and there very may well may be one buried underneath LOEH’s layers of sonic icing, but that makes it more complicated than it needs to be. Right now, just grab another slice and dig in; we now have a double-layer cake to enjoy. That could very well be the concept right there, served with a touch more melancholy, but still going down as smooth as before. This time though, it may just wiggle that loose or overworked sweet tooth a bit as it goes down for a twinge to remind you why the high times seem a bit higher when you got some contrast…Vol 2. has your required allowance of contrast under the wrapper; there’s the rush of Complicated Mind or the hazy stomp of Flowers, backed up with dreamier cuts like North Hampton Wood or the piano-spined Henrietta Lacks A Smile. When you cave and grab that fifth piece of dessert, it always tastes good, but deep down you know it’s going straight to your hips… a little dash of poignancy makes it all the sweeter.

Why this revolution came in two parts we’ll have to find out later, but for now, indulge and enjoy the bounty. Rich as ever and still fat-free…that’s an elusive sweet spot that LOEH have their wings full wrapped around.

The Ottoman Girl :: The Luck of Eden Hall :: The Butterfly Revolutions, Vol. 2 (2011, LOEH)