The Butterfly Effect on mending fences to create a hard-rocking return, album IV
Throughout the 2000s, Brisbane quartet The Butterfly Effect burned bright as a leader of the nation’s alternative rock ‘n’ roll scene, but behind the scenes, life wasn’t always peachy.
Throughout the 2000s, Brisbane quartet The Butterfly Effect burned bright as a leader of the nation’s alternative rock ’n’ roll scene, releasing three albums that were built on a hard-edge, highly melodic sound.
Behind the scenes, though, life wasn’t always peachy. Fractious relationships frayed through constant touring, and the discord was such that singer Clint Boge and guitarist Kurt Goedhart once went an entire six-week run of shows in 2006 without speaking to one another, even as the band crested a wave of popularity that saw its second album, Imago, debut at No.2 on the ARIA chart.
Artistic tensions can produce great music, but at what cost? Boge left the band in 2012 and then rejoined in 2018, but it’s only this week that the group is issuing its fourth album after a 14-year gap between releases.
Titled IV, the 10-track set picks up where the group left off by continuing to showcase the rare creative chemistry and compelling songwriting that made The Butterfly Effect one of the great Australian rock bands of its era.
Away from the stage and the studio, it was a smaller, quieter group interaction not long ago that captured just how much the four men have grown.
“There was a nice moment when we were at a party together a few weeks back, and all four of us were having this big, in-depth chat,” said bassist Glenn Esmond. “It was great: unprompted, we just wanted to hang out.”
It was a far cry from what inevitably happened when they were at after-show parties in the 2000s, where the musicians would retreat to four corners of the room.
“I’m glad we’ve moved past that, but it’s nice to reflect and look back, and see how far you’ve come in that climb, and it’s come with maturity,” said Boge.
Success in the 2000s helped pave the way for fellow hard-rocking Australian acts Karnivool, Cog and Dead Letter Circus, who all found wide audiences in its wake. But for the band members, a combination of time, fatherhood and the necessity of finding other work to support families and mortgages have all played a part in turning down the volume on the dysfunction that plagued the quartet’s heyday.
Today, they joke that their rehearsal space in Brisbane’s northern suburbs is akin to a men’s shed, where the four friends gather each week for a beer, a chat and a jam ahead of an upcoming album tour.
When The Australian visited on Monday evening, drummer Ben Hall quietly but proudly shared a message of thanks sent to the band’s Facebook page from a medic in Ukraine who had recently become reacquainted with its back catalogue while working in a war zone.
“I thrive on hearing people’s stories about you in their life, and you don’t know who they are,” said Hall, shaking his head. “Our lives are so entwined in so many peoples’ worlds; it’s remarkable, and there’s a bit of magic here that people relate to.”
IV is released on Friday. The band’s national tour begins in Cairns on September 30 and ends in Fremantle on October 16.
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