Scary Fragile, Australian singer/songwriter Butterfly Boucher's second album, is a scattered collection of quasi pop-rock that is, inexplicably, catchy and irritating, sweet and contrived, innovative and overdone.
Boucher's music has always strayed closer towards the latter on the wavering line between artistic and manufactured - her debut album, Flutterby, was more Mandy Moore than Liz Phair - but it seems that some of Boucher's original spark has gotten lost in the six years since her last album's release.
Scary Fragile opens well enough with "I Found Out," a funky, energetic The Hush Sound-esque jaunt through the age-old power struggle present in a turbulent relationship. The lyrics aren't particularly exceptional, touching on the typical female angst so often spun by XX chromosome songwriters with a repeated hook but a powerful drum line and Boucher's unique vocals keep it mildly afloat.
The album's best offering is its concluding track, "A Bitter Song." Released on iTunes in February 2007 after a successful feature on the hit show Grey's Anatomy, "A Bitter Song" is a poignant, piano-acoustic rendering, reminiscent of Feist and Cat Power.
Boucher's lyrics are unusually touching, recalling the pain of lost love and the desperate search for healing that followed.
"Gun For A Tongue," Scary Fragile's fourth track and newest single, encompasses some elements of excellence - Boucher's vocals are powerful, and the hook line is lively and fun, but the lyrics are stagnant, and the content is tired and overdone. Nothing about "Gun For A Tongue" sets it apart from any other female power-pop singer.
Similarly, "Just One Tear," the album's third track, is a whiny, insipid half-rock attempt at pushing female power and self-awareness; while it seems like Boucher set out to inspire with punchy percussion and commanding vocals, she mires it down with absurd lyrics and a clichéd melody that would do better on an early addition of a Now That's What I Call Music compilation than on a wannabe indie rocker's sophomore album.
Let's be clear: Boucher's genre of music tends to appeal to the music listener who appreciates the soft sensation of female power rock. But Boucher's folly is that there are so many female singer-songwriters out there who can do it better.
Stalwart lyrics, strong melodies and tight instrumentation are essential when it comes to creating a memorable femme opus; more importantly, originality is the key to a skyrocketing ROCKRGRL rep. Scary Fragile, with its gaping musical holes and weak tracks, just doesn't do justice to Boucher's potential as a future indie powerhouse. Hopefully, her next attempt will show the world that even in this cutthroat industry, she can hold her own among the other cookie-cutter wannabe Tegan & Saras.
