For Fans Of: The Butterfly Effect, Sixx: A.M., Birds Of Tokyo.
Glenn Esmond has been mesmerizing Australian music fans for over ten glorious years now with his skills on the bass, in Brisbane rock group The Butterfly Effect. A Family Of Strangers is his musical baby that he is now releasing into the wild in the form of a six track EP, titled ‘New Techniques For Beginners And Champions’.
All of the music and lyrics, besides one song (‘The Velvet Divorce’), were written by Glenn during the brief breaks he enjoys while not focusing solely on the musical giant that The Butterfly Effect has become. ‘Lovely (The House At Number 23)’ is the first track and the first taste fans are given of his emotion grabbing vocals. Fans would expect nothing less than great vocally, seeing as he has been playing behind one of Australia’s greatest vocalist, Clint Boge, for over a decade. Second song, ‘Don’t Forget (03.03.03)’, is a rock song that could be mistaken for an innocent party with Sixx: A.M. and Papa Roach that ended with a broken heart. Then things slow down with ‘Here Without You’ and begin to sound like a lonely Christmas morning with nothing left to do but eat that ham all by yourself while watching Tim Allen hilariously become Santa Claus. The closest song that resembles his other musical love, The Butterfly effect, is second last song ‘The Velvet Divorce (Follow)’. This is because it is co-written with band mate Clint Boge. At the start of the song it is an easy mistake to think it is actually Clint not Glenn singing. The EP finishes with ‘Farewell, Mr Hooper’. This song starts of with some psychedelic bass and ends with a classic guitar solo which ensures that the play button is hit straight after the CD stops spinning. The songs on this EP are a refreshing breath of fresh air to say the very least.
‘New Techniques For Beginners And Champions’ is an EP that exceeds all expectations. For those who thought Glenn Esmond was just a great bass player are now being shown he is one of the countries most gifted musicians. He manages to make the listener feel like they are right there with him experiencing all of his emotions. A Family Of Strangers are on the way to becoming a rock group like no other in the country.
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