The Voluntary Butler Scheme

The origin may well be an interesting story but The Voluntary Butler Scheme is an awful, awkward name for Rob Jones to adopt. Jones is a one man band who plays, produces and performs his own music.

Brain Freeze is the first release from his forthcoming album and one hopes that this is one of the weaker tracks. It’s a friendly, funky number that initially sounds like a lot of fun but there’s a palpable tiredness about the song. The parping horns are all too familiar, bordering on cliché, and the guitar licks drill this song into the where-have-I-heard-this-before part of the mind. The other track Smoke Alarms could be Brain Freeze’s twin.

It’s all very pleasant but in the end, a bit twee.