Credit: Monstercat
Butterfly Effect
[By: Koven]
Genre: Drum n bass, Drumstep, Electropop
Rating: 55
Cohesiveness: 44
Track quality: 71
Beginner-friendly? yus
Written 2023/12/30
Bass music duo Koven, consisting of producer Max Rowat and vocalist Katie Boyle, drop a fairly unambitious record on Monstercat.
Largely drum n bass and drumstep, with a few electropop and melodic bass tracks sprinkled in here and there, "Butterfly Effect" aims for quite a simple beauty. Katie's vocals spearhead the album from front to back, lending her powerful voice to powerful lyricism and powerful emotive expression you often find in more vocal-oriented projects like these. But let's cut to the chase - because I don't have many other good things to rattle off - "Butterfly Effect" is simply just not that interesting.
Koven does aim for a 'simple beauty', but somewhere along the way they lost the ability to make this project consistent. Of course, some of these tracks are actually rather evocative - perhaps the melodic dubstep of "Gold", or the majestic "Worlds Collide", or even the cinematics of "Speaking Through Smoke Detectors" - but "Butterfly Effect" as a project finds itself missing the mark just a little too often. It should be reiterated that nothing here is offensively bad, but the standout tracks are few and far between. Katie's vocal, however good it is on paper, tires out quite quickly, and the production seems to take a backseat for the majority of the record, doing no favours to keep it interesting other than a few half-hearted switchups (I know the heavier switchups are technically not that good, but I'll admit to a couple of guilty pleasures. Still, my original point holds). What's worse is that Koven also make no attempt whatsoever to soften the blow with some kind of narrative, something I'd have loved to see in a vocal-based tracklist like this one, but alas, something that does not seem to be considered. It's a shame, really - Koven are a fantastic duet act, one of the most prominent in the electronic scene currently, and it'd have been great to see them do something more with "Butterfly Effect".
But honestly, some of these individual tracks are very good. "Butterfly Effect" may be a weaker album holistically, but it's perhaps a stronger album on a track-by-track level, since most of the tracks only struggle within the context of the larger record, performing just fine on their own, particularly as Katie does put a lot of emotive impact into her performances. And so whilst I won't be returning to the album, you can bet a very large sum of money that a sizeable majority of these tracks are going in the playlist - and rightly so.
Listen on Spotify here.
Worlds Collide [Intense] | (/100)
Big, sweeping, grand vocals from Katie open up this album. It's backed up by a powerful bass signature, strong percussion and a couple of simple yet effective DnB drops. This opener's strengths don't necessarily come from its production, but rather its writing, though that second drop feels very clean.
Butterfly Effect [Standout] | (/100)
Soft melodic bass production and a nice set of vocals and lyricism, alongisde a weirdly echoey snare The soft melodic bass production, paired with Katie's smooth vocal, flows well and feels aptly evocative. Max's percussion work feels equally good, with well thought-out sound design through the verses and a strong echoey snare in the drops.
Followers [Heavy] | (/100)
Katie swaps to a lower vocal to introduce what goes on to become one of the heavier tracks of this album. "Followers" is quickly overrun by its massive, rolling brostep drop, with an impactful psytrance switch to follow for the next drop - a structure that's dated, but I don't mind it here.
All for Nothing [Emotive] | (/100)
This is the first track that feels... pretty boring. The vocals, though undeniably emotionally driven, feel a little tired by this stage, and the high-pitched dancefloor lead stubbornly refuses to even take a peek outside the box.
Speaking Through Smoke Detectors [Standout] | (/100)
With another particularly strong track, my review is beginning to feel a little undermined. Perhaps this album is frontloaded - nevertheless, the slow, wonderfully cinematic nature of "Speaking Through Smoke Detectors" makes way for some really solid movements.
Shut My Mouth [Switchup] | (/100)
This is the second heavy brostep switchup of the album, and also probably its heaviest track. The vocal and the lyricism are both good, but the mixing suffers a lot, leaving "Shut My Mouth" feeling a little muddy or flat. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure, but it's also tough to overlook its faults.
Stars [Emotive] | (/100)
Bright synthwork matches Katie's hopeful vocal bar for bar, layed gently over a lovely liquid drum n bass beat. The drum feels a little harsh, but the softer feel of the soundscape, for the most part, overpowers it. The contrast is clear though, and "Stars" can't keep itself afloat on just the one idea for its entire runtime.
For Me [Laid-back] | (/100)
The production takes a step back, removing the dominant drum n bass beats in favour of an instrumental pop ballad with minimal yet evocative synth padding. Katie's vocals take center stage and are very powerful, and the padding helps a lot, but the piano feels fairly bland, almost restraining the track from progressing into a climax.
Give You Up [Laid-back] | (/100)
"Give You Up" feels like a run-of-the-mill DnB cut off this album. Katie's vocals don't really add anything we haven't already heard, and the liquid drum n bass is well-produced - in fact, it's perhaps one of the most technically sharp tracks - but it doesn't add anything new to the conversation.
YES [Upbeat] | (/100)
"YES" is a super fun houes tune, bouncy and funky and wonderfully replayable. I'm very happy that Koven decided to deviate from the DnB for a second to transfer a lot of joyous energy into a house tune, because this is a total blast to listen to.
Your Pain [Heavy] | (/100)
Meanwhile, "Your Pain" is the other side of the coin in terms of switchups. The vocal feels unpolished compared to some of the other cuts off this album, and the songwriting feels messy. Though most of the leads are fine, they lack a lot of impact as a result, as well as sounding very flat in the mix.
Missing [Switchup] | (/100)
Ambient pop cut with long builds, immersive padding and a neat midtempo drop - slightly repetitive, but very cool Ambient pop cut with long builds and immersive padding. Katie shines in the first movement, building up the verse, before it's taken over by a driven drop that swaps into a midtempo-esque final movement.
Gold [Standout] | (/100)
Majestic vocals and complementary majestic production, alongside warm melodic dubstep drops Though they're wistful and forward-facing, the vocals are nothing but majestic, and the complementary production is just as majestic. Koven's warm melodic dubstep drops encase the whole thing in a bright, optimistic, yet reinforced solidness.
Surely You Know [Atmospheric] | (/100)
Another majestic cut, feels like a bit of a repetitive way to finish, but - like many of these tracks - could be worse "Surely You Know" is a great song in of itself, but it has the same notions of grandeur as a lot of the previous cuts. Sure it's grand, but the idea is starting to get a little repetitive now, which is never a good sign for an album finale.
- YES (/100)
- Speaking Through Smoke Detectors (/100)
- Gold (/100)
- Followers (/100)
- Missing (/100)
- Worlds Collide (/100)
- Butterfly Effect (/100)
- Stars (/100)
- Shut My Mouth (/100)
- Give You Up (/100)
- Surely You Know (/100)
- All for Nothing (/100)
- For Me (/100)
- Your Pain (/100)