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Rogers & Butler — Studio 3
(Bandcamp Think Like a Key TLAK1179, 2024, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-12-10

Studio 3 Cover art

Studio 3 marks the third release by the New York based duo of Rogers & Butler. It matches the high standard set by its predecessor, Brighter Day (2022). The album kicks off with “Soho Fantasy,” a harmonica-led romp that could have come out of London in 1964 but for the modern clarity of the recording. This is followed up with eleven more winners, each with its own twist on styles that originated from the mid 60s into the mid 70s. “Jigsaw Puzzle” has a bit of Laurel Canyon country rock; “Burned by the Sun” reminds me a bit of George Harrison’s solo work of the 70s; “Music’s Perfect Rhyme” could almost pass for a Paul McCartney tune from 1968; and “Scarlett Letter” ventures into trippy psychedelia with backwards echoes and swirling phase shifts. Through the course of these songs, you’ll hear echoes of The Kinks, The Zombies, Love, Badfinger, The Byrds, The Boxtops, Big Star, and more, but it’s coherent and consistent in the quality of the songwriting and the performances. Edward Rogers and Stephen Butler are masters of the finely crafted pop rock song, and all of their music has the natural feeling of the era before electronics took over the production of music. That might have something to do with the fact that the music was recorded in Studio 3 at the famed Abbey Road during a two-day session — a far cry from modern techniques of assembling tracks digitally from multiple sources. In short, Studio 3 is a refreshing set of songs that reminds us that songwriting doesn’t need the trappings of fashionable digital manipulation to pull at the heartstrings.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Rogers & Butler

More info
http://rogersbutler.bandcamp.com/album/studio-3

 

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