Review Summary: With a new line-up The John Butler Trio take another jump in quality. With vivid and powerful musical landscapes as well as groovy and fun rock numbers, their third outing ensures they’re cemented deep into the Australian conscience.
In 2001 The John Butler Trio released their breakthrough album
Three, rocketing them into mainstream popularity. It was their first full band effort (as opposed to the one-man show that was
John Butler) and the results paid off to no end with the album gaining platinum status without compromising the overall sound of the group. In 2001, Gavin Shoesmith, the bassist, left to form his own band, The Groovesmiths, and the group proceeded to go through numerous changes to the line-up. 2 more bassists came and went, and an extensive tour of the US was undertaken. After 5 solid years of work Butler decided to take a brief break for the birth of his daughter, leaving the band on hiatus until 2003, when he re-entered the studio with a different drummer and bassist.
Both Nicky Bomba (drums) and Shannon Birchall (bass) bring their own style and sound to the record. Nicky’s drum work is unique, versatile, and energetic, with inventive fills and superb beats. “Mist” is where he is given the chance to show this off, driving the piece forward with tribal percussion. Shannon’s bass is often deeper than Shoesmith’s, making it far more prominent while still retaining that groovy feel. His work on “Company Sin” brings out that uniquely danceable feel that we’ve come to expect from the group. He’s also a wonderful composer, with his original and utterly beautiful string work on “What You Want”. The band succeeds as a unit as well, successfully mashing their styles to create a unique sound. The aforementioned “Mist” is a perfect example of this. Butler’s fast-paced finger-picking, Shannon’s hauntingly strung upright bass and Nicky’s driving rhythm come together to build a picture, a vivid landscape, that stays in the listener’s mind long after the song has finished.
Butler is still the star of the show here, his hybrid finger-picking (a mix of a vast variety of styles) is as strong as ever. With original compositions like “Mist” he firmly establishes himself as a contender for the best guitarist in Australia. On
Three he often chose the slide-guitar over his other instruments, but here he’s returned to his old diversity. There’s a banjo on “Bound To Ramble”, quiet acoustic on “Peaches and Cream” (as well as quite a few other tracks), and of course his usual slide-guitar and sitar. He also knows when to sit back and let the other band members create the mood. On “Bound to Ramble” he plays a repetitive riff on the banjo while Shannon’s evocative bass and Bomba’s subtle drumming build up the world around him, giving him a chance to also bring out a side of his vocals never before seen, a deep, drawn-back performance that builds to a mighty group effort.
Folk-rock is still the main genre of choice, despite the additions. The rock side of things is of course highlighted by the energetic cuts like “Zebra”, while the folk style is brought into prominence by Butler’s skilful story telling. Ballads are widely available here and all are written with a touch only Butler has. Try “Old Man” for an example of how Butler has shifted his style to incorporate more of the folk-side of things. Old Man’s political message stands out in this world ruled by fear and war. Butler clearly demonstrates what the consequences of our actions will be.
“Old man looks out the windows
You know he cannot open it anymore”
“The smog alerts don’t let him even go outside
And then he starts to think
When the Earth it start to die.”
Sunrise Over Sea is best enjoyed with crystal clear audio quality so you can catch all the little subtleties the trio have added (there’s a piano hiding in the background of “Seeing Angels”, giving the song a fuller sound without overshadowing the main instruments). Admittedly this is a more mainstream effort, but honestly, that shouldn’t matter, because the group are still far stronger than any of the other talentless mainstream rock acts. The John Butler Trio excel in all the right areas with evocative imagery, groovy rock numbers, as well as the more experimental tracks like “Bound to Ramble” and “Sometimes”. What a shame they didn’t keep this up for more than one album, as the follow up,
Grand National, unfortunately demonstrates.
