John Butler moved from LA to a small country town in Australia at the tender age of age of 11. In his adopted country he has progressed from street busker to a platinum selling artist who enjoys a massive local following. Like the Dave Matthews Band, who his trio supported on a US tour, this home success has not yet translated to Europe.
Butler is an artist who has built a reputation for combining the personal with the political. On this album, he apparently drew significant inspiration from an appearance on TV series 'Who Do You Think You Are?' tracing his family roots. He describes the album title as "a metaphor for transformation".
His trio is a frequently changing unit which for this album consists of Byron Luiters on bass and brother-in-law Nicky Bomba on drums. Butler summarises the musical results as "free, melodic, funky, phat and rocking".
The fifteen songs are a solid but highly predictable amalgamation of rebel rock sources from blues, reggae and hip hop. His politics may be radical but his music is anything but. Revolution and One Way Road stay on safe territory of raising individual awareness rather than being specifically directed at symbols of power and oppression. I can't help feeling that a little more rage against the machine would have injected a little more fire and passion.
|
Close To You is skanking love song while Don't Want To See Your Face casts a less rosy eye on relationships. These are just a couple of examples of conventional and highly commercial songs that are strongly rooted in the classic pop-rock tradition with a 20th century sensibility.
There is no denying John Butler is a talented and committed artist with a strong social conscience. He puts his money where his mouth is too, helping to set up The Seed arts grant fund which was founded in 2005 to support Australian artists to establish themselves as self-sustained professional performers.
This album will seal Butler's reputation at home but it is hard to see it extending his fan base. I don't imagine he is too worried about that.
Band website/Blog
|
