John Butler Trio – Home

Award winning Australian rock band John Butler Trio have just released their new album, Home. It’s their seventh studio album in a twenty year career. Although they’re a trio by name and in the studio, they’ve recently increased to a five piece band for live shows.
There’s a very personal feel to the songs on the album – at the time, John Butler was dealing with anxiety issues, and said “It turns out that breakdowns can lead to breakthroughs if you’re willing to get under the hood and get your hands dirty”.
Known for their guitar based roots rock sound that spans genres, this album sees them exploring new sounds with a more electronic sound being obvious here. Check out the video for title track, “Home” where the electronic sound is evident..

It’s a very varied album. While roots rock is the best description it’s only really a partial description – there’s too much genre spanning stuff to fit into any neat pigeonhole. The electronic sound of songs such as “Home” sits alongside far more folky songs, more straight rock songs, and even songs where the guitar work in particular gives it more of a country or blues feel.

Overall I really like this album. There are a couple of tracks I’m not so keen on – mainly the ones where they’ve moved away from their traditional sound, but even those I don’t dislike, just like them less than the others.

It’s a great album that’s well worth checking out. The band are on tour in the UK during October.

Track listing:

1. Tahitian blue
2. Wade in the water
3. Just call
4. Running away
5. Home
6. Miss your love
7. Faith
8. Coffee, Methadone & Cigarettes
9. Tell me why
10. Brown eyed bird
11. You don’t have to be angry anymore
12. We want more