Detroit shoegazers Majesty Crush are the latest ’90s-era band to get the Numero Group treatment: Butterflies Don’t Go Away is a career-spanning double LP compilation which includes their sole studio album, 1993’s Love 15, plus a second disc of singles and EPs. All songs on Butterflies Don’t Go Away have been remastered from the original tapes and it comes with a 24-page booklet featuring rare photos and new liner notes by the band. It’s out March 29.
Majesty Crush never fit comfortably in a single pigeonhole, with elements of shoegaze but also ’80s UK alt-rock and the crunch and melodicism of bands like Smashing Pumpkins. But that also allowed them to open for just about everyone who came through Detroit in the early ’90s, including Mazzy Star, The Verve, Julian Cope, Chapterhouse, and My Bloody Valentine. Love 15 came out via Warner/Elektra subsidiary Chameleon/Dali, but they were soon victims of major label woes and bad luck. “We went from label discussions about having Moby remix ‘Cicciolina’ to being homeless in the space of a week,” says drummer Odell Nails.
The second disc includes 1992’s Fan EP which has just hit streaming services for the first time. Says bassist Hobey Echlin, “The Fan EP version of ‘No. 1 Fan’ is, if not THE, then certainly a major turning point in the Majesty Crush story. What was essentially a polished demo on a self-released 5-song EP became an area radio hit on the local alt-rock station. By the time the band recorded it in late ‘91 with producer Mike E. Clark in the demo room of The Tempermill Studio, ‘No. 1 Fan’ sounded like a band whose ambitions were outgrowing their indie roots. Nails’ drums were insistent, the bassline shifted from notes to chords to finally octaves, with Mike’s sighing and soaring guitar lines – all underscoring David’s escalating trademark vocals that had at that point advanced into a complete lyrical character, manic, personal and anthemic.”
You can watch the video for “No. 1 Fan” and listen to the EP and Love 15 below.
Butterflies Don’t Go Away:
LP 1 – Love 15
SIDE A
Boyfriend
Uma
No. 1 Fan
Brand
Purr (Interlude)
Seles
Side B
Grow
Pretty Head
Cicciolina
Penny For Love
Skin (Interlude)
Feigned Sleep
Horse
LP 2 – EPs & Singles
Side C
No. 1 Fan (EP Version)
Worri
Horse (EP Version)
Sunny Pie
Cicciolina (7″ Version)
Side D
Purr (7″ Version)
Space Between Your Moles
Seine
If JFA Were Still Together
Ghost Of Fun