IN REVIEW: John Butler Trio - "Home"

Over a career that has spanned twenty years and seven LPs, John Butler has amassed himself a formidable portfolio of songs; slowly rising through the ranks and building a well-deserved reputation as a live performer, Butler and his Trio have more than enough quality tunes to entertain a crowd, be it a club show or a major festival.

As a longtime fan, I will admit that some of Butler's recent material has been spotty; in my mind, this is primarily due to what seems to be a desire for mainstream acceptance. These pop-leaning concessions are often jarring, such as a sugary pop single sandwiched in between a ragged protest song and a touching ballad.

On Home, however, these aren't sudden off-putting about faces, rather subtle adjustments throughout the record. Electronic components come into play across the board, from the use of processed beats to the atmospheric use of keyboards. The result is Butler's most cohesive record in a decade, and one that finds a way to incorporate these experimental pop elements without ignoring Butler's inherent guitar talent. The closest Home comes to going too far is on its title track and its trap beats, but the song works better in the context of an album that eases the listener into JBT's evolution.

Any great album requires a collection of strong songs, and Butler's come up with a set of emotional, lively and sometimes harrowing tunes here; there are also nods to not just Butler's early work, but classic rock staples as well (Wade in the Water contains elements of The Allman Brothers' Midnight Rider). By modernizing these sounds in a way that isn't so jarring for fans, Butler seems to have figured out that it's usually a fool's errand for a rock musician to try and go mainstream but that trying to make the mainstream rock a little more is never a bad thing.

September 28, 2018 • Jarrah/Nettwerk
Highlights Wade in the Water • Just Call • Coffee, Methadone & Cigarettes