|
 |
John Butler TrioSunrise Over Sea Jarrah/MGM It seems that John Butler and his band can't put a foot wrong at the moment. Their 'Living' live album from early last year remains in the top 40 album charts 12 months later and current single Zebra has been hugely successful not just with his long-standing "alternative" crowd, but also with more commercial-friendly audiences. In fact, this album debuted at number 1 on the ARIA charts - almost unheard of for an independent artist. 'Sunrise Over Sea' is a worthy and welcome return to the studio and Butler displays a broader approach to his music this time around, using a much more eclectic range of sounds.What You Want boasts an elaborate and emotive string arrangement composed by bassist Shannon Birchall, and a number of tracks feature a female voice - his wife Danielle Caruana - on backup vocals. There's no doubt that the social and political awareness of 'Three' is still present in his lyrics, particularly tracks like There Will Come A Time about the forest campaign in WA, but 'Sunrise Over Sea' is softened with a more personal, emotional edge. In tracks like Seeing Angels he sings about his love for his wife and Peaches is about the birth of his child. The album moves from moments of funk to blues to reggae, even boasting touches of hip hop and country, but maintains Butler's broadly-based roots vibe throughout. 'Sunrise Over Sea' is certainly a step above 'Three' and shows that Butler is still developing as a musician and artist. Who knows what will come next? |
|
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine
