Paul Vickers and the Leg - Winter at Butterfly Lake (2025) Hi-Res

Around fifteen years ago, I found myself reviewing Paul Vickers and The Leg‘s second album Itchy Grumble. A rock opera, it had been described as being like The Fall, Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits having a punch up on a boat, which if memory serves, was pretty accurate. In 2025, Don Van Vliet and Mark E. Smith are, sadly, no longer with us, and this may not sound a particularly, uh, nautical record, but that wonderful description still pretty much stands on their fifth record. This is actually a very good thing. And yet… it doesn’t sound much like many of their other records, to be fair.

As you’ve probably worked out now, this is a record borne out of leftfield. It’s got great songwriting and impeccable musicianship (particularly from the wonderful ‘cellist and arranger Pete Harvey who is one of the great under exposed heroes of the Scottish music scene). However, if you’re looking for a simple straightforward singer-songwriter (there’s thousands of them in my inbox alone, take your pick), this may not be the album for you. For those of you who are happy to be challenged by music (which I realise is a much smaller fraction of listeners, sadly), and to spend time with an album, this album is worth spending time with.

It’s a very personal album. Speaking about the record, Vickers has suggested that ‘Heartbreak is the best state to be in to write love songs.’ (As anyone who’s listened to ‘Layla‘ and ‘Wonderful Tonight‘ back to back, this is pretty accurate.) Due to incidents in his personal life, he found I had a large bundle of memories that hew as pouring into a new set of songs, and what he was writing in effect was a heartbreak suite and the first time, in a career now nearly thirty years long, that he has been open and laid himself so bare

The albums opens with the awesome, cinematic ‘Slow Runs The Fox,’ which sets the tone for the album. It is worth noting that the track is one of the more accessible on the album. It contrasts with the rather more quirky and banjo driven ‘Tickled Pink‘ which then follows. These are love songs, Jim, but not as we previously knew them. I’m not sure if the reference to the girl who spins gold with everything she touches is meant to be a reference to Rumpelstiltskin, the legend of King Midas or something else. That’s just it with Vickers and crew, trying to pin them down is like trying to nail jelly to the wall, though much more rewarding, right the way through to close of ‘Contents Of The Earth.’

So there you have it. A quirky but deeply original release. You may not fall in love with it at first listen, but for those who are prepared to forgo instant audio gratification, you will be rewarded.

…and it’s nowhere near as bewildering as Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica.