In the early summer of 1993, Rough Trade released Onomatopoeia, the first album by Belfast native Joe Cassidy's Butterfly Child. Having first come to the public’s attention after a wave of press resulting from two EP's released on dream pop legends’ A.R.Kane’s H.Ark! label, an incendiary first BBC John Peel Session, and a UK tour supporting The Sundays, Cassidy recorded Onomatopoeia in a couple of weeks with the help of long-time friend and collaborator Gary McKendry of the now infamous Papa Sprain. Gleefully using a shoestring budget that felt like a 1 million dollar advance, Cassidy and McKendry bought an 8-track tape machine, a cheap drum machine, an even cheaper reverb unit, a second-hand synthesizer, and a bunch of tea. They then proceeded into the album’s recording sessions with a classic Irish carefree attitude and confidence. Part of Onomatopoeia’s charm that still holds true almost 25 years later is its child-like, timeless quality - it sounds nothing like anything of its time. It is a unique and beautiful collection of "almost songs" that flourish as a whole body of work that beg the listener to delve deeper, to get lost in the aether of it's lyrics, and to let its quiet roar roar all over you. For fans of Disco Inferno and Bark Psychosis.
Released 19/01/18