John Butler Trio
Sunrise Over Sea

THE REVIEW

Saturday morning. It's pouring rain. I'm in my trusty record store to buy something, but today nothing appeals to me. I'm on the verge of giving up and heading back home empty-handed when a sepia-toned cover catches my eye. A guy with dreadlocks and an acoustic guitar sitting in some kind of shack is saying something to me. On the back of the CD, the same guy with a drummer and a double bassist in the same shack is telling me to buy the CD together. And I don't need to be told twice.

I have no idea who "The John Butler Trio" is, but I rush to the car excited like a kid with a new toy and pop the CD into the car stereo.

An acoustic guitar not too distorted introduces me with a slight phrasing "Treat Yo Mama". The three guys know how to make the listener comfortable like a freshly made bed at the end of a hard day, and without realizing it I find myself nodding my head to the rhythm. I decide to take a longer route to spend some time with my new friends.

The fingerpicking of the acoustic guitar is very intimate in the slower tracks, it almost seems like it doesn't want to disturb too much, but it changes nature in the rhythmic pieces of the album, where it perfectly complements the soft soundscapes that Shannon Birchall knows how to weave with the bow on his double bass, completing them in their tribal rhythm without ever overlapping them.

I continue listening and a subtle string arrangement envelops me like a light silk veil. I can't take it anymore, I pull over and open the booklet. "What You Want" is the title, and as I read, I realize the beauty of what I'm listening to, and I find myself laughing alone.

I start again. Outside it's still pouring rain, but I don't care, because my little "private world" is now tickled by a gentle breeze of soft guitar riffs, and my attention is captured by them. A reggae-flavored bass accompaniment and Butler's very distinctive voice, which seems tailor-made to warm the heart, make me discover the lightheartedness of "Zebra". Nicky Bomba skillfully maneuvers between the skins and cymbals of his drum set to introduce what more than a guitar solo with wah-wah could be described as happiness turned into music. I stop to let an old man with an umbrella cross, who looks at me a bit oddly. I'm laughing alone again.

Okay, that's enough! I need to get home to enjoy my new discovery with more intimacy. I start again. There's still time for an instrumental track where I can fully appreciate the technique of the three, who here offer a truly high moment within the album, where they manage to shape their instruments until they sound like one thing.

I finally arrive home.

I press eject, place my new treasure, 'Sunrise Over Sea', in the case. I look out the window, it's still raining, but I don't care anymore.

Now I have my personal sun to light up my day.