M. Butterfly - The Lonesome Country Sounds Of Vol 1 & 2

The Brighton-based alt country musician recorded ‘The Lonesome Country Sounds of M Butterfly’ on just a Sony tape deck.

On 21 June 2024, Brighton-based songwriter M. Butterfly releases his new album, ‘The Lonesome Country Sounds of M. Butterfly’. A two-volume work that showcases the best of five years of songwriting. Recorded to a Sony tape deck and released on cassette, it’s raw, lo-fi sound may be an acquired taste, but as M has said, ‘A good song will shine through any production, I just can’t afford the high-end ones’.

On the volume one opener ‘Bonnie’, M sings of a clandestine affair with suicidal ideation, and in volume two song ‘All I Want is Sometimes’, he dreams of a moments respite from the hammering darkness. M has never shied away from his struggles with mental health, and these songs and others document that struggle earnestly and succinctly. Elsewhere on the album, M tackles commitment (‘I can’t give myself 2 u’), sexuality (‘The Écorché) and grief (‘Black church’, ‘Call When You Get Home’).

Indeed, grief is a topic M returns to often, having recently lost close friend and mentor Jo Rose at the start of this year. ‘Why should anyone else have joy? Why should I be patient?’, M sings on black church, putting the frustration and agony of grief into a question we all ask to a world that continues to spin. To be a songwriter’s songwriter is a blessing and a curse, according to M. Butterfly.

It’s to be a dedicated follower of the act of song, writing and creating deeply powerful works, and it’s also to be unable to write any hits. The Lonesome Country Sounds of M. Butterfly is released on tape on 21 June, alongside a chord and lyric book. The cassette will be the first release from Paper Anchor, a tape label set-up by M. Butterfly and Eyeless Records will release the book through its publishing arm, The Serpent Line.

Whilst it may not top any charts, it will become a helping hand to someone in need of a song to get through the darkness, a favoured reference point for songwriters of the next generation and a scratchy record of a man’s hope against the struggle.