Annapolis-based LTB returns with Butterflies, a hauntingly beautiful R&B single that dissects the addictive agony of a love gone toxic. With his signature velvet-and-grit vocals and jazz-infused production, LTB crafts a soundscape as mesmerizing as it is melancholic—a track that flutters between euphoric devotion and crushing betrayal with poetic precision.
Channeling the moody allure of The Weeknd, the ethereal vulnerability of Joji, and the slick groove of Steve Lacy, Butterflies is a masterclass in contemporary R&B noir. The production simmers with sultry basslines, lush harmonies, and jazz-tinged chords, creating a dreamlike backdrop for LTB’s raw, soul-baring delivery. The chorus—“Love forever taken / Wonder if my heart can take it”—lingers like a bruise, its repetition mirroring the inescapable cycle of a damaging romance.
LTB doesn’t just sing about heartbreak; he unravels it. “This song is about feeling deceived yet unable to walk away,” he explains, comparing love to a moth drawn to a flame. The lyrics are vivid and visceral, painting betrayal as something irresistibly tragic—a butterfly pinned mid-flight, gorgeous but doomed. It’s a theme familiar to fans of James Blake’s introspective sorrow or Hozier’s poetic torment, yet LTB makes it uniquely his own with a voice that quivers with ache before soaring into defiance.
With Butterflies, LTB solidifies his place as R&B’s most compelling melancholic poet. This is lush, layered artistry—a song that hurts so good, you’ll play it on loop just to feel it again.
