Track x Track: Butter - 'Butter' EP

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It’s been a long journey for Fremantle-based band Butter to get to the release of their new self-titled EP, the follow-up to their breakthrough 2018 mixtape I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. A release that put them on the radars of jazzy hip hop and neo-soul fans in both W.A. and the rest of the country, Butter were also busy honing and making a name for themselves with their dynamic and tight live shows.

Scoring a WAM Award nomination in 2019, the band further cemented their national reputation by showcasing at BIGSOUND, as well as sharing stages with the likes of Spacey Jane, 30/70, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Kirin J Callinan. Set to play the iconic Falls Festival at the start of 2020 and further elevate their profile, things took an unfortunate turn for the group as frontman Lachlan Payet was involved in a tragic accident on Christmas day. After being airlifted to Perth, he underwent emergency surgery followed by two weeks in intensive care that thankfully he came out the other side of.

Following a lengthy rehabilitation process,  Lachy came good and got the band back together, resulting in the release of their 2022 single Balance (that we premiered), and now their freshly released self-titled “comeback” EP, Butter.

Speaking on the release, Lachy explains “I can't describe to you how good it feels to be sharing these songs with you. This group of friends has been through it the last few years and we’re still friends! Still making music and still feeling a whole lotta silly love on stage. This group of work goes back to 2019 with some of the first music we ever released, but we’ve still kept a few new tracks for the EP release.”

To celebrate the release of Butter, Lachy was kind enough to take us deeper into the story of each track - have a listen and get to know!

Make It Home

Written at a time of my life where I was just a puppy! I wrote this song about the events that happened to people around me. Growing up I lived off a main road where car crashes were a common thing, I sang about the fragility of life and losing loved ones on the road.

This seemed to eerily foreshadow what would then happen to me and my own loved ones as the car we drove home in crashed in 2019.

This song is about losing someone you love, it touches on the danger of rural roads and the fragility of life that I never really felt until my own personal experience.

Buggin

I've always had a movie in my head whenever we've played this song. Imagine a Dr Seuss animation where there are daisies shifting and shuffling their shoes, whistling in tune, conducted by a sharply dressed maestro who's incredibly drunk and probably shouldn't have come to work. Music is fun, dancing is fun, word play is fun. How many words can I use with the "ooo" sound in it? There's a huge MF DOOM influence here!

Balance

One of the first songs we ever wrote! The lyrical meaning is vague, but the feeling has always been strong. I hope it makes you feel nostalgic, kinda like you've just gotten home from school and sat down to an episode of Round The Twist on ABC.

Hocus Pocus

I've always thought it's absolutely wild that I'm allowed to scream into a microphone on stage. This has to be my favourite song to do that. I sing about the primal feelings of love and attraction while the band moves in a jolty, half swung fashion.

Remedy

Everyone who has ever been in the band has recorded this song! I can hear influences from Koi Child, J Dilla, King Krule, Alfa Mist. Incredibly proud of the band's work on this song.

          - Lachlan Payet, February 2024

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