Shimmering positive pop. Winnipeg's The Telepathic Butterflies play addictive guitar pop reminiscent of the last few Redd Kross albums...except more jangley overall. Bandleader/songwriter Rejean Ricard has a great voice...and his overdubbed harmonies are absolutely seamless. The band is rounded out by Jake Dubois (drums), Eric van Buren (bass), and Angus Kirkpatrick (guitars). In addition to writing their own material, the band hints at possible influences by offering a credible cover of Donovan's "Epistle to Dippy." The Telepathic Butterflies' highly melodic pop effectively combines elements from the 1960s British Invasion and 1980s guitar pop...creating a swirling and vibrant sound that is instantly likable. A pure feelgood experience. (Rating: 5)

The Telepathic Butterflies: TheTelepathic Butterflies (Rainbow Quartz)

Reissued! New and improved! Powerful audio enhancement! Four more songs! Yeah, the Butterfly boys see their original Nine Songs release taken on and revamped by NYC's Rainbow Quartz label. A perfect match it would seem as the modern sunshine psychedelics of the Butterflies go nicely with the likes of their label-mates the Rock Four and, now, Spain's Sidonie. The new cuts ("Radio Darlings," "Sunshine Radio," "Elixir" and "A Final Word") sit perfectly in with the other mid to late period Beatle and Floyd-esque influenced pop tracks. Tasty guitar sculptures, heavenly harmonies and rhythms adorn and enhance what is sure to be another well-received Rainbow Quartz release. (16 tracks. 58:15 playing time.)

****1/2

Rainbow Quartz / Fusion III

Retro-power poppers Telepathic Butterflies borrowed their name -- not to mention the cover art of their self-titled album -- from Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions. So we know they can read. This is good. And on these 16 songs, they borrowed bits of the sound from the likes of The Beatles, Big Star, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet, The Kinks and much of the Elephant 6 roster. So we know they have good taste and cool record collections. This is even better. But what really seals the deal -- and, we would suspect, helped seal their deal with cool U.S. indie label Rainbow Quartz -- is that whatever they borrow, they pay back with interest. Recorded at home over the past few years, Telepathic Butterflies is an outstanding slate of expertly crafted, solidly performed, craftily arranged and superbly self-produced power-pop jewels that condense the late '60s and early '70s down to an hour's worth of sharply gleaming hooks, high-angle vocals and British Invasion tunesmithery so sublime it oughta make Robert Pollard jealous. This shows they can write. And that's what's best of all.

I've been a big fan of this Canadian band, and they follow up their brilliant 2004 release Songs From a Second Wave (which featured one of my favorite songs that year, "Bonhomie") with this concept album of sorts about suburban life. While the topic may not be terribly profound, the songs are great. They're back on Rainbow Quartz, and they are the quintessential RQ band: hooky, Nugget-y sounding and unashamedly retro. Key tracks here: "The Trouble In Keeping Up With The Joneses", "Mr. Dysfunctionality" and "Facing Id". Plus, their main man is Rejean Ricard - with that kind of name, he ought to be in The Strokes.

One thing is made clear from the opening track of Breakfast in Suburbia: The Telepathic Butterflies (what a name!) are rooted in a 1960s pop aesthetic, their apparent influences a combination of the usual suspects: The Beach Boys and The Beatles, most notably, with a nice dose of surf rock playing out in the guitar tones. There’s enough of a psychedelic inflection in the music produced by the duo that citing Barrett-era Pink Floyd wouldn’t be completely off the mark, either.

While producing a prominent ‘vintage’ sound, there’s something undeniably modern about The Telepathic Butterflies, and perhaps that’s because of the resurgence of ’60s-influenced pop music that came about in the form of early-career Of Montreal or Starlight Mints; either way, there’s nothing to complain about with any real veracity. Breakfast in Suburbia is a solid pop album with enough of a personality that it shouldn’t be lost among a crowd of bands similarly influenced.

Telepathic Butterflies have a nice grasp of vocal harmony; no doubt that comes from their pop pedigree. Likewise, there’s a certain neatness to their clean-toned guitar that’s attractive to tired ears. Breakfast in Suburbia isn’t one of those overtly distorted pop records that crashes into listeners with pesky ferocity, opting to exercise a more gentle method; Telepathic Butterflies, with their well-played pop sensibilities, have a definite winner with Breakfast in Suburbia.

The Winnipeg duo The Telepathic Butterflies (singer/guitarist Rejean Ricard and drummer Jacques Dubois) proved on their first two albums that they were a very good pop band, but their third long player is the one that proves they may very well be a great one. A power pop breeding of Blur's Parklife and The Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society, Breakfast In Suburbia is a fourteen-song polemic that argues what lives in the suburbs is not necessarily alive. Inspired by an early morning bikeride through the neighborhood, the album is not exactly a one way searing indictment of suburban life, but rather a series of insights, stories and observations that gently suggest the wasting of ones' life is a rather easy thing to do. There are meditations on conspicuous consumption ("The Trouble In Keeping Up With The Joneses" and "If It's All Too Much"), neighborhood dishing ("The Gossip Trail") and social rot ("A Scathing Report") and they're all handled with the fire of Paul Weller ("While You're Asleep") and the storytelling acumen of Ray Davies ("Mr. Dysfunctionality"). Later, "The Wishing Invisible" and "Sign Of The Times" sounds like a more muscular Squeeze and the psychedelia of "Facing Id" is a punchy winner. But it's "A Midlife Crisis" that really steals the show here. A smoldering and impossibly catchy rumination of a life not lived, the song's regretful, gut-wrenching sentiments—"I should have bought the sailboat/ I should have chased my dreams" and "I should have changed my ways/I should have made my peace")—are front and center and rendered in painful specificity.

More "Classic Pop" from Literate Canadians:

Concept albums must be riddled with endless solos and couplets about wizards, right? Not according to Winnipeg's Telepathic Butterflies, who hone in on the minutiae of a neighbourhood's interrelationships with the obsessiveness of David Lynch and the detail of Pete Townshend, via the powerpop genre. While it's de rigueur to mention Badfinger, "Day Tripper" and the word "jangly", there's a touch of Squeeze to the way they mope -- "I felt good, but I've felt better" -- over crisp guitars and vintage, not to say hoary, structures. 3 stars

The Telepathic Butterflies' third full-length release is the Winnipeg band's best, most dynamic and ambitious effort to date, regardless of which version of the album you get your hands on.

That's right, there are two remarkably different versions of Breakfast In Suburbia currently in the offing. They're easy to tell apart: one is a 14-song CD, the other is a double 12-inch vinyl gatefold package boasting no fewer than 22 tracks, including all 14 that appear on the compact disc.

Highly recommended in the event of a point-of-purchase toss-up, the LP version isn't merely comprised of the CD material fleshed out with some bonus tracks. Rather, the song sequence is completely different than that of its digital counterpart, the mastering is wholly different as well (resulting in a warmer, and generally less condensed sound) and there are all sorts of sonic goodies serving as aural bridges between many of the songs.

So WTF is the deal? Well, it seems TB's main man Rejean Ricard presented the material to Rainbow Quartz as a lengthy, thematic album charting the course of a day in the life of a typical suburban yob trying to juggle responsibilities and maintain sanity in a world gone bland, or something like that. Label honcho Jim McGarry apparently had his own very particular ideas about which tracks should appear on a much more concise release. In the end, the two sides compromised with the main CD release reflecting McGarry's desired song selection and the snazzy double-vinyl version satisfying Ricard's conceptual vision. With only 500 copies of the vinyl version in circulation, those eager to nab one ought to do so soon.

It should be stated that the real strength of both releases are the songs and the performances of Ricard and solid, old-school drummer Jacques Dubois. Fans of the Butterflies past psychedelish Beatlesque efforts won't be disappointed, and there's no shortage of catchy, decidedly progressive numbers here either, along with plenty of bona fide rockers.

The Telepathic Butterflies don't release albums very often. But when they do well...then we're all in for a really cool treat. At this point in their career, one would expect the guys in this band to be overproducing their music and going straight for the bucks. But this is certainly not the case with Breakfast in Suburbia. This is a very stripped down album on which the band uses a standard line-up of bass, drums, and guitars to present their decidedly unpretentious and totally delicious upbeat pop tunes. The band consists of Jacques Dubois (drums), Eric Van Buren (bass), and Rejean Ricard (guitar). Ricard is a master songwriter...this time tossing out fourteen fresh new killer tracks that stick in the mind like glue. Interestingly, this time around many of the songs recall The Jam at the point when Paul Weller began toning down the volume a bit, opting to focus more on melodies and arrangements. The Telepathic Butterflies are one of the most genuine and credible guitar pop bands on the planet. Instead of following trends and selling out, they focus on creating purely entertaining music for discriminating listeners. Killer cuts include "The Trouble in Keeping Up With the Joneses," "Telescope," "Sign of the Times," and "The Caution Slumber." Warning: This stuff is as catchy as holy hell. Recommended. (Rating: 5++)

Rock fans longing for compelling new music from The Who or The Kinks should look no further than the third and latest from the Winnepeg, Canada-based trio with the goofy psychedelic name.

Its style of late '60s/early '70s Brit-rock captured on vintage recording equipment might lump the trio in the moribund music heap, but "Breakfast in Suburbia" is a hale and hearty feast of rock champions with enough punch to make Green Day fans smile.

From the get-go the threesome thunders out rippling, muscular power-pop with more hooks than a tackle box and enough power chords from guitarist Rejean Ricard to give Pete Townshend goosebumps. Acoustic guitars are folded into mixes of chiming, ringing, riffing, reverberating, buzzing electric guitars bolstered by Jacques Dubois' thunder drumming and Eric Van Buren's rippling bass lines. Tunes are tight, little Ray Davies-like ditties dealing with the alienation, ennui, cheating and phoniness of a mundane middle-class existence.

For a musical "Breakfast" that will last long into the night, The Telepathic Butterflies soar with power while upholding a classic rock style.

On its third album, the Canadian psych-pop band led by Rejean Ricard sounds as good as ever. Musically, this album is pretty comparable to the last two, with perhaps just a bit more of a punchy mod aspect to a song or two.

Where the band has tried to grow is in the content department. Breakfast In Suburbia is a concept album. Ricard looks at the ‘burbs with a jaundiced eye. It makes for some pretty interesting songs. At times, he may have sacrificed some hooks to focus on the words. I think it’s a worthwhile tradeoff, because the music is consistently engaging and Ricard’s vigor for his commentary is obvious.

For example, “Gossip Trail” is a pithy look at how information travels around a neighborhood, people exchanging rumors for no other reason than it’s something to pass the time with. The song is a pleasant jangle popper that ends with this observation: “Now that we’re getting old and chronically sick and cold/it’s hard to face change/but I’m still quite aware of things going on right here/it’s hard to explain.”

Ricard is even more cutting on “A Scathing Report”. Musically, this song covers some of the same moony territory as former labelmates Rockfour. This is as hectoring as the most moralistic T Bone Burnett song, with Ricard indicting Americans for proclaiming such lofty goals and aspirations, but not realizing the facts that undermine these claims. This isn’t your typical psych-pop, with hippy dippy paisley dripping lyrics.

Ricard moves into Beatles and Hollies territory on the questioning “A Midlife Crisis”. This song is a laundry list of things that the protagonist should have done. The music is mid-tempo and melancholy as Ricard ruminates in the verses, and the tempo and melody pick up in the refrain, as he realizes how he can make up for it by doing something now. I love how the musical shifts compliment the lyrics.

“She Looks Good” is somewhere between The Kinks, Paul McCartney and a Mike Nesmith Monkees tune. This song might have the strongest hook on the record. This is a song about facades versus self-awareness, and Ricard makes his preference well known: “It’s the fact you are yourself that makes you great.”

And the Butterflies are themselves. What comparisons I make throughout this review are, for the most part, pretty general. Some ‘60s revivalists are much more explicit about their thefts. But this trio has melded its inspirations into a distinctive sound that evokes with sounding too derivative of any one artist.

This album, although instantly attractive on the surface, takes a bit longer to sink in. As I said near the beginning, the focus on the lyrics might come at the expense of a few hooks. And although I like the words, Ricard’s observations are sometimes more heartfelt than original. Still, I find myself going back to this album enough that there is definitely something to it.

Upon first listen, the third album from Winnipeg's the Telepathic Butterflies is another joyful slice of '60s-inspired power pop, but dig a little deeper and the pristine sheen isn't as shiny as it initially appears to be.

Breakfast in Suburbia is a 14-track slice-of-life song cycle that follows the lives of different characters and all the regret, gossip, paranoia, consumerism and dysfunctionality that can come along with suburban life. That's not to say this album is a downer -- it's anything but, thanks to the immaculately crafted, hook-filled, melodic brand of retro-rock nuggets duo Rejean Richard and Jacques Dubois have perfected over the course of the last decade. A midlife crisis has never sounded so catchy. The Kinks are an obvious musical touchstone, so this could be considered the antithesis to The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society.

The production is warm and fuzzy, thanks to the 16-track analogue reel-to-reel machine used to capture the majestic sounds created by the duo (complemented by former bassist Eric Van Buren on several tracks) over the course of the last two years. And for true audiophiles, Breakfast in Suburbia is also available on double coloured vinyl as an expanded 22-song set. 4 stars

A lot of bands have claimed the Beatles as influences, but I've seldom heard any that have done it as well as The Telepathic Butterflies from Winipeg have done on their recently released CD Breakfast In Suburbia. Rejean Ricard (guitars/vocals) and Jacques Dubois (drums) incorporate memory-tickling inflections of the late 60's/early 70's British invasion sound while updating it for the alternative-rock palate. These 14 catchy tunes constitute a tantalizing trip back to rock as it was before the White Album.

"Have you ever noticed all the people in the streets?" asks Rejean Ricard. He has. And on this magnificent third CD from his trio of Telepathic Butterflies, he exposes the dark underbelly of our world with literary detail. Then he sets those tales of midlife crises, suicide and dysfunction to the jangly British Invasion power-pop of The Kinks, The Who and The Beatles. Ray Davies couldn't have done better. 4 stars out of 5

Rainbow Quartz is the Underwriters’ Laboratory of the music world—their logo on the outside of the package is an ironclad guarantee of quality within. Case in point: Breakfast in Suburbia, the third album from Canada’s The Telepathic Butterflies. Brilliantly updating the British invasion sound, the Butterflies have crafted Merseybeat for the 21st century—imagine tossing Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Dave Clark Five into a time machine, and then rocketing them four decades into the future. The end result might be such pluperfect modern Britpop as The Trouble in Keeping Up With the Joneses,” or “Facing Id.” “If It’s All Too Much” so invokes the early Who one can almost see the windmilling guitar. While the Telepathic Butterflies inject small quantities of psychedelia throughout—could it truly be a Rainbow Quartz release otherwise?—they never do so at the expense of melody. Consequently, “The Gossip Trail” comes across as “That Thing You Do!” crossed with “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night.” The Difford/Tilbrook influenced “A Midlife Crisis” should be the theme song for every balding forty year old with a trophy wife and a red convertible sports car. “She Looks Good,” highlighted by an impossibly tasty acoustic guitar solo, could have been the work of Neil Innes. Like Innes, The Telepathic Butterflies have managed to harness an unmistakable affection for a particular style of music into something new, fresh, and irresistible.

This is pretty much perfectly executed melodic psychedelic rock and pop. This is a 16 track disc that continually unfolds more pleasures with each play. This is one of those rare discs that I had to hold back on writing up a review because I was pretty overwhelmed. I'm not going to begin to list the influences -- there are snatches of melodies and guitar figures that may bring up specific groups or songs, yet most of this simply demonstrates mastery of the form and would require a certified music archaeologist to really break it down. To put it another way -- when you do a cover of Donovan's "Epistle to Dippy" that not only equals the original, but may supplant it as the best version, the greatness is more than apparent. The band negotiates a mostly poppy path, with deceptively powerful musicianship -- sometimes they come off like The Bee Gees fronting The Move. Rejean Ricard handles the vocals with remarkable facility -- he doesn't have a distinct voice, really, but whatever the song needs he handles. Add on the fact that he is also the guitarist (and there are guitars all over the album) and you can't help but be impressed. The lead part on "Radio Darlings" keys the song, and it sounds like George Harrison, with a flair that is reminiscent of Mick Ronson. The pleasures are all over the place -- how "Elixir" starts with bluesy bluster before hitting a Brit pop stride, featuring a chorus that builds and builds and builds. Ricard's occasional lyric gems like: "she gave a sigh/the morning wears her down to size" (from "California Bent"). The way "Yearbook" wisps about like The Pretty Things at their prettiest. The bass line of "A Final Word", one of the seemingly endless variations on McCartney's on The Beatles' "Rain" -- and how the song doesn't tie itself to the bass line, but uses it as a jumping off point. Get to know the Telepathic Butterflies.

Winnepeg pop trio the Telepathic Butterflies play it clean and sweet on their self-titled second album. The catch of the day here is power pop, mildly psychedelic jangle division, and the Butterflies have all the necessary ingredients: ringing guitars with George Harrison leads and the occasional growl for variety, spot-on harmonies and the usual complement of melodic songs. There's nothing fancy here, just straightforward, catchy tunes like "Elixir," "Radio Darlings" and "Urban Meanderings." It sounds almost too simple, except that, as any artist could tell you, staying simple is actually one of the most difficult tasks. But the Telepathic Butterflies make it sound easy. Guitar pop fans, line up here.

We all love guitar pop, don't we? Even the most cynical and grouchy among us can enjoy a good dose of jangly rhythms and psychedelic melodies every now and then. The trick to genuinely savouring the genre, however, is to find the crème de la crème -- the few diamonds in the rough, the artists capable of surpassing the otherwise semi-generic crowd of bands that endlessly harp on waves of overplayed '60s nostalgia. Despite lacking the level of oomph that might push it into the territory of the truly exceptional, the Telepathic Butterflies' debut has most certainly descended from this otherworldly indie pop heaven, full of infectious riffs, energetic rhythms and a plethora of deeply rooted harmonies that recall the most whimsical pleasantries from the guitar pop of decades past. The Butterflies' sound is incredibly rich and fluid for a three-piece, particularly surprising here as the entire album was home-recorded on a 16-track analog tape. Eric van Buren carves out bass lines that veer all over the map, powering every tune with a deep edge and a faint hint of punk derivation; when they're paired with Jake Dubois's percussive talents, the band's rhythmic soul appears, shaking down even the most languid of melodies and shaping the ringing, loose forms of Réjean Ricard's guitar into power pop anthems. Ricard's vocals are retro-magnificent, a perfected, dispassionate longing dripping over every track. Clever lyrical quips trade places with standard metaphors of sun, sky and summer. "All Very Hoopla!" defies its hyperactive title and drifts placidly along on trippy harmonies and muted rhythms, while the band's take on Donovan's "Epistle to Dippy" keeps entirely true to the vintage spirits of the original work. "Sunshine Radio" occasionally pulls a bit too much from these nostalgic rehash files, but the song's more creatively daring refrains evoke a strange combination of The French Kicks and XTC dipped in a soupy mixture of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys and The Byrds. If you want to sit back, soak in the sun and float around for a bit in the dreamy nostalgia of guitar-driven power pop's past and present, bend your ears around this album.

You just never know just who's going to pop up to demonstrate how "it" is done.

By "it", I mean the ability to not just mimic the music of your heroes and think that that's enough to secure a place in modern pop. The Telepathic Butterflies have a creativity that sets them apart from the "sameness" of power pop that's so pervasive these days (what with label Rainbow Quartz's ability to track these bands down?). Taking the power trio format, the band perfectly melds Revolver-styled Beatles with Who/Kinks type power chords to create a hook-filled delight here. No pretension, no by-the-book songcraft, and plenty of heart and soul - very little wrong with that.

And nothing wrong with tracks like the choppy Radio Darlings or the cool swinging groove of Sunshine Radio. That's just the tip of the iceberg throughout the sixteen tracks that make up this CD, making its consistency one of its greatest strengths. The guitar of Rejean Ricard is responsible for keeping things varied here, as on the hypnotic strum of California Bent and the acoustic work all over the closing Nothing But The Sunshine (featuring a lovely cello from Jonathan Bauch).

It's not a one-man-show behind the music here (although Ricard is the band's songwriter). Knowing that it takes tasteful playing to drive these songs and steer clear from sounding like the same number over and over, bassist Eric Van Buren and drummer Jacques Dubois keep the proceedings firmly grounded when they have to. The also know when to pound it out as on Narcissus. It's probably comes together most notably on the inspired cover of Donovan's Epistle To Dippy - the rhythm is remarkably busy, but never takes of into anything incomprehensible or distracting.

Needless to say, this is just about the finest CD of its kind that I've heard yet this year and expect that a bright future awaits these guys from Winnipeg. Very well deserved.

(* * * 1/2 out of 5)

Psychedelic Hotline

The group started as a two-piece back in the early 1990s with lead singer, guitarist and frontman Réjean Ricard and drummer Jake Dubois performing as a White Stripes-style guitar-drums duo. Eventually the pair bought their own Winnipeg studio, expanded into a trio and caught the attention of Rainbow Quartz. Ricard admits his band is sort of the odd band out on Rainbow's far-out roster. He may have found his band's name from a throw-away phrase in Kurt Vonnegut's novel Breakfast of Champions, but psychedelia isn't a major part of the Butterflies' sound.

"There's definitely psychedelic leanings and '60s influences and comparisons are thrown out there, but it's not like we're trying to recreate a '60s sound," says Ricard, speaking on the phone from Winnipeg. "There's definitely songs that are psychedelic but it's more production elements ... Ultimately, we're a pop-rock band that writes songs with a lot of different styles."

When, exactly, does one listen to power pop? It’s not late-night music, it’s certainly not music to make out to, neither is it the kind of music you play when you’re getting ready to go out. The answer in this case is when you’re feeling nostalgic, or need a reminder that the world is actually quite a nice place to live. The heart of Canada’s Telepathic Butterflies world is a kaleidoscope, where it’s forever 1967 cum 1987; heady, rolling beats and jangling guitars and tambourines are the order of the day, and even if there’s no new ground being broken here it’s comforting to know that there will always be a safe haven for sky-blue choruses, permanent grins and guitars played somewhere around the nipples.

After much basement-studio toil, Winnipeg's fave Vonnegut-pondering psych-poppers get a wide release. Whimsical '60s Brit-isms à la The Move and Revolver-era Beatles dominate the disc (which also includes a convincing take on Donovan's "Epistle to Dippy"). But underneath the Carnaby Street aesthetics lay genuinely well-crafted songs, with little over-indulgent void-contemplation. Still, "Mr. Laughabee's Circus" is a glorious wake 'n' bake track, whether you choose to bake or not.

**** Rundown: The Telepathic Butterflies recorded and mixed their songs from their very own home. With the exception of three tracks, we are introduced to a five-piece instrumental rock band that has a feel-good sound and interesting lyrics, which were written by vocalist R. Ricard. This Canadian band brings a catchy but unique sound to the music scene, which will hopefully guarantee them a promising future.

Key Tracks: Although each one of the songs on the CD is enjoyable to listen to in its own way, "A Final Word," "Narcissus" and "Mr. Laughabee's Circus" are three tracks with remarkably catchy tunes. Due to Ricard's clever and unique lyrics, the band is able to maintain its own style and avoid sounding too cliché. As one might perceive, the band's interesting name reflects the uniqueness of their lyrics.

Sounds Like: When initially introduced to a band, you may experience that feeling of having to listen to the songs over and over again before being able to entirely appreciate their music. However, The Telepathic Butterflies present upbeat tunes and catchy lyrics that will have you hooked the first time around. Their sound is reminiscent of Sloan, with a sort of British vibe. It is definitely a CD to listen to while in the mood to kick back and enjoy the day.

The Telepathic Butterflies' second album is built on the same power pop scaffolding as the first, and the songs all exhibit a delightfully energetic joy. But first appearances can be deceiving, and Réjean Ricard's songs, for all their bubbly and harmonic surfaces, are actually full of regret, lost chances, and a general longing for the freedoms and familiarity of childhood. The lead track, "Bonhomie," which has all the trappings of a garage band classic, states the theme directly: freedom lies in childhood, the future forces responsibility. Ricard is a remarkably melodic (if occasionally wordy) writer, and coupled with drummer Jacques Dubois' tight, perfectly nuanced harmonies, the Telepathic Butterflies manage to have it both ways, sounding light and free while musing on deeper, sadder truths. The template for this sort of thing -- as it is for most power pop outfits -- comes from the Beatles, the Who, and the Kinks, and the Butterflies have made it their own (as hard as that is to do). Occasionally the influences show through. "Angry Young Man" feels like a Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd track, while "Sickly and the Awkward Gene" seems like a classic early Pete Townshend or Ray Davies social study in mod behavior. Not that either of these songs is blatantly constructed -- much of what the Butterflies do works because of the group's frame of reference. Like the first album (in either version), Songs from a Second Wave feels like a burst of fresh air, and its bright, joyous surface is only made more striking by the depth and substance beneath it. The Telepathic Butterflies continue to be a band to watch.

Rating: NNNN For just two people, fantastically named Winnipeg pop crew Telepathic Butterflies sure make a hell of a racket. There's no Inbreds-style minimalism here. The drums-and-guitars duo of Jacques Dubois and Réjean Ricard build their songs up into full-fledged mod pop epics on this debut disc, adding layers and layers of instrumentation but still keeping the arrangements clean and uncluttered. Strings slide in when necessary, but what's so impressive about the 12 tunes on Nine Songs is how fully developed they are. No corners are cut, and every note seems to have been thought out months in advance. Nice one.