Review of April Uprising Album by John Butler Trio

The follow up to 2007's 'Grand National', Australian outfit John Butler Trio now release their fifth studio album since debuting in 1998. They're currently touring North America before heading across the Atlantic for various appearances at European festivals.

John Butler Trio April Uprising Album

A contender for best opening album track of the year so far, 'Revolution' has a slow brooding tone that captivates before opening up to an anthemic chorus. In many cases this would set the rest of a record to be a disappointment, but generally across the remaining 14 songs there is a consistent level of quality. 'One Way Road' is a display of funk-folk, while 'I'd Do Anything' has a great guitar riff and is reminiscent of Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Scar Tissue'. Displaying a fine talent for different genres, JBT move from the soothing tones of 'Ragged Mile' to crunching metal in 'Close To You', while a decent ballad is also to found in the shape of 'Mystery Men'. The inconsistency in sound isn't detrimental though as the one constant is the quality of songwriting and this is most clearly evident on 'Fool For You', a beautifully melodic effort aided by intelligently used classical strings. Commercial success in the UK may have evaded the outfit so far, but one listen to this album is enough to hear why the band are so popular in their homeland.

Alex Lai


Site - http://www.myspace.com/johnbutlertrio

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