Alcohol, women, and drugs. You don’t have to look hard to find out what these songs are about, just look at the titles. We’ve got three songs by this Vancouver band by the name of Bute Street, each taking a turn at one of these subjects.
The four-piece, sharing the name of the residential street in Vancouver’s West End, consists of an Irish frontman by the name of Colm Donnelly along with two other Irish bandmates, and a BC-native on bass.
Sunny Days Hazy Nights is the second release from the band you can find on streaming platforms, following last year’s 4-song EP Superficial Times. You can catch a bit of the accent from Donnelly and their rock shows traces of punk but with a taste of Brit-rock. However you choose to label them, it’s rock music with attitude, that likes to have fun while making a point.
“The Whiskeys Done” is the most alternative, grunge-fueled song showcased with this release. They establish a hell of a rock song in the first 45 seconds and Donnelly sounds fantastic as he gets things rolling with the verse. It sets a scene from the point of view of a man who just finished the bottle and is trying to get together with his “lady friend” who is not having it.
“And I know you think that you’re all that/But you’re going bald and you’re getting fat so/I hate to be the bearer of bad news/But you’re not hot stuff.”
“The Girl” lightens up the mood with more of the Brit-rock sound and a chorus that sounds like something you might hear from The Beatles. Though I try to read between the lines and find the darker meaning behind the song, this may just be a love song. Albeit one that seems sung from a lovesick fool who is flabbergasted at how this girl could completely disarm him.
“Fentanyl;” a word that has become all too close to home for many over recent years, and the final song of the EP.
“But you couldn’t give two fucks/When you’re throwing that powder up your nose/Even though you know that you might die/You can’t say no, you like to get high.”
They hit on that statement with the most upbeat rock rhythm of the EP and if you’re not paying close attention you wouldn’t realize they’re speaking on a life or death subject. It’s a party of a song with a garage rock personality that brings this release to a playfully dark conclusion.
