Butterfly Bones – “♥“

If you listen to KWVA regularly, this synth-pop band may sound familiar, as their delightfully bouncy “xoxo” received quite a bit of airplay last spring. On their “Pretty Feelings” EP, the band employs retro synthesizers to make Cyndi Lauper-inspired pop tunes with light psychedelic touches. Because of this, I often think of Butterfly Bones as a groovier version of Portland’s Starfucker.

Butterfly Bones – “xoxo”

On paper, it seems like it should be easy to dislike this band. A more cynical critic could write a list of complaints without much effort. They have song titles like “xoxo” and “♥.” Their Facebook page lists their location as “San Frandi$co.” And how tired must music critics be of using the phrase “The Eighties” when describing a band’s sound these days? But Butterfly Bones succeeds simply because they lack the condescending snarkiness of many other 80s revivalists. They remind me of Passion Pit because they make cheerful and bittersweet synth-pop without any hints of it being some kind of ironic joke, but they never really delve into the same heart-on-the-sleeve emotionality of Passion Pit. Butterfly Bones just wants to have fun, write love songs, and groove to low-key dance music. What’s wrong with writing happy music for happy people?

The picture quality came out pretty wirey, but I did take liberties with showing off my hebrew skillz (we’ll see about that).

Until next time, shalom! And a quick ‘hello’ from Ami Shalev of Monotonix.