Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
When there is Nothing To Lose there is always the thought that there is everything to win, something monumental to gain, too secure the true self revealed in the fight that life throws at you in the hope that you will rise above the negative.
Nothing To Lose, everything to gain and Red Butler once more show that having been Freedom Bound, they have kept the cynics, the intolerable pessimists and the down at heel detractors at bay by producing an album of absolute quality and music that is sensitive, commanding and aims straight like an arrow for the subject, piercing the formidable enemy’s armour and causing wound after wound to be opened.
It is the wound they open up, the spilling of blood of the undeserving and the reckless who hide in the shadows, painting a canvas of want and insignificance in the hope that their trivial pursuit will see them outclass groups such as Red Butler; it is a game they cannot win for Red Butler are consistent, full of the groove and passion and above all they rise above the musical Goliath with charm.
Following on from Freedom Bound, any band might suffer the issues of keeping up with the audience’s expectations, some wither under the might of such hope; some rise though and red Butler certainly have ascended to a greater mountain because of it.
In songs such as Say Hello (To My Little Friend), Calm Before The Storm, Black Flies and You Only Live Once, Red Butler power and dominate the air between studio and the listener’s ears, this is an album that takes the band out of their audience perceived comfort zone and moves them up a notch in the ring, the fight is good, clean and moving, yet at all times the listener knows, recognises that the band are immovable, they are a force with lyrical escalation in their arsenal and the ability to bring down forests of the selfish and the insecure in their wake.
Nothing To Lose, everything to gain, an overwhelming sense of desire that cannot be tarnished or beaten, Red Butler continue to impress.
Ian D. Hall