Australia’s Yergurl has been releasing music since 2019. Fae Scott’s trap-influenced pop project has been on a pretty dark trajectory, with each release revealing bolder, riskier and more interesting choices. I was considering writing about her music earlier this year, but when she announced the release of Butterfly Dreams of a Violet Rose, I figured I’d wait.
Her debut EP from 2019, Love Bite, was stylistically varied but somewhat timid — the sound of an artist figuring out where she fits in. She found it: last year’s Courtship ❦ mixtape leaned way into the darkness, with moodier synths and more sinister production. It was a personal statement as well – all of the songs on Courtship ❦ were written, performed and produced by Scott herself.
Courtship ❦ has a sound that feels strongly influenced by The Weeknd’s House of Balloons. The intense, threatening atmospherics that launched Abel Tesfaye’s career are here, paired with intense, raw lyrics about complicated relationships, anxiety and desire. Opener “howling at the moon” sets the tone here: moody and dark with lyrics about obsession and possession: “Let me take a bite / Wanna feel your flesh inside of mine / Your soul is intertwined with mine“
Scott shows a ton of restraint on these songs: not only in the production but in the pacing. Standout “a lil bit” is noisy but fragile, like something echoing down a dark alley. Mid-record highlight “im drunk” has a lethargic pace that echoes the sluggishness and confusion of intoxication. Closer “aisle…” uses church organs and warm synths to evoke a wedding, with Scott at her most deceptively sweet.
Now a little over a year after Courtship ❦, Yergurl seems to have found new confidence both in her production and songwriting. In only four tracks, Butterfly Dreams of a Violet Rose sees Scott stripping things down even further, opting for ultra-minimalist production and hypnotic atmospherics, paired with even sharper melodies and edgier, more direct lyrics.
It’s a sparse and moody collection — opener “wherever you go” is just layered vocal and synths — and the other tracks are similarly minimalist. “a green light” is the only track with percussion throughout, it’s a seductive banger, seemingly custom-built for the VIP room.
On the lead single “Rage”, Scott wants to destroy the one who’s leaving her. It echoes Courtship ❦‘s “Howling at the Moon”, with an urgent and threatening tone and swirling vocal that slowly gives way to chaos.
I am holding you until the pieces of you dissipate
Disintegrate
Only hate is strong enough to break the chain
But you’re broken anyways
The eight minutes of Butterfly Dreams of a Violet Rose are an effective tease for what’s to come. These four songs feel like the opening set to a longer body of work – one that hopefully maintains the detailed production and moody atmospherics that Yergurl has evolved into.
