After fifteen years away, Butterfly Explosion have re-emerged with Swallowed by Stars, the first taste of a long-awaited second album due later this year. The Irish duo of Laura Smyth and Gazz Carr revisit the cinematic atmosphere that made Lost Trails such a beloved debut, while pushing their sound into even dreamier territory.
Built on the expansive post rock sensibilities Carr honed during his years with God Is An Astronaut, Swallowed by Stars gradually unfolds into a dense shoegaze wall of sound, where beautiful guitars, shimmering textures and ethereal vocals blur the line between beauty and emotional collapse. The track embraces immersion in a refined manner, allowing its sentimentality to come through until melancholy and euphoria become almost indistinguishable.
Featuring guest appearances from Jo Quail on cello alongside former God Is An Astronaut members Niels Kinsella (bass) and Lloyd Hanney (drums), the single explores surrendering to something vast, dark and all-consuming, discovering an unsettling sense of solace within the unknown.
It's a compelling return that suggests Butterfly Explosion have lost none of their ability to transform introspection into something grand and transportive.
ZR