Nobody in this town sounds quite like Bicycle Eaters. Which only makes the news of the group’s pending demise more of a damn shame. Recently, band founder and primary songwriter Jeffrey Bützer announced Petals of Youth would almost certainly be the group’s final record. If true, it’s a fitting farewell, as the 11-song effort deftly captures the whimsical charm and inventive spirit that has marked the band’s extended (albeit limited in terms of recorded output) tenure in Atlanta.

Bicycle Eaters - Petals of Youth

Formed in 2010, Bicycle Eaters at once offered the ideal outlet for Bützer’s esoteric compositions and musical interests. The group’s 2011 release, Hiding Plastic Spiders, provided a dynamic introduction with instrumental songs that twist and bent into all sorts of fascinating shapes. Along with dabblings in French pop and surf rock, the segues into Spaghetti Western and oom-pah street music, came Bützer’s predilection for unconventional instruments—accordion, toy piano, Farfisa, resonator bells, and glockenspiel among them. More than just providing an occasional melodic accent or rhythmic detour, these sounds became a defining feature of Bicycle Eaters’ adventurous aesthetic.

With the arrival of vocalist Cassi Costoulas in 2012, however, the band began to shift away from their unbridled eclecticism with songs that focused more on melody and traditional structure. Although the group remained a steady presence on the local scene for several years, no new recordings were made available to the public, and over time, Bützer’s role as the principal voice for Bicycle Eaters began to diminish as Costoulas and others ushered in greater collaboration. “This is a true blue band release,” he told us back in June as the band prepared to release the album’s first single. “In fact, my presence on the record is very minimal.”

Minimal presence or not, Petals of Youth retains the cinematic allure that has long been a hallmark of Bützer’s songwriting. Accompanied by longtime collaborators Costoulas, Kristin Haverty (cello), Sean Zearfoss (drums), Chad Shivers (guitar), Eric Balint (percussion), and Matt Steadman (bass), the music is transportive, leading you through lands both familiar and foreign—tropical seascapes, bustling urban streets, dusty desert panoramas. It’s dynamic and detailed, with songs that ring with eccentric clarity. Lead track “The Dark” serves as a Technicolor overture, a sweeping piano-led ballad that sets Costoulas’ graceful vocals as the lead figure in a swaying, sprightly dance. Like most of the tracks, it comes and goes in under three minutes, but not before leading you through the narrow streets and back alleys of a rain-swept Paris neighborhood.

Other highlights include the Latin Motown strut of the title track, the Morricone-meets-the-Mountain-Goats swing of “Wasted Ones,” and the jaunty “House Made of Cake.” Although each song on the record develops its own unique environment and architecture, the longer you listen to Petals of Youth, the more it begins to blend together. Usually that would signal a limited palette, a lack of variety or imagination, but here it’s exactly the opposite. Like a vacation crammed with too much sightseeing, there’s so much here to observe and take in, that it can all fly by in a blur. My advice is to take it slow and space out your journey. Breathe in the sights and sounds. Bicycle Eaters may be going away, but Petals of Youth is built to last.

Bicycle Eaters will celebrate the release of Petals of Youth in what is more than likely the band’s final performance tonight at Kavarna. Joining them will be Julianna Money. Doors open at 8 p.m. All ages.

More Info
Web: jeffreybutzer.com
Bandcamp: jeffreybutzer.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @jeffrey.butzer