2014 - Vanguard
By Phillip Smith;
May 17, 2014
Flesh & Blood, the sixth studio album by
Australian roots band, John Butler Trio
is a sheer delight. Filled with rich melodies
and poignant lyrics, this eleven track album goes down smooth and refreshing
like iced lemonade in the summertime. Backing
Butler this time around is bassist Byron
Luiters and drummer Grant Gerathy.
Butler creates a trippy
environment for “Blame It On Me”, riding a wave of trance-inducing beats laced
with spacy effects. It’ s so
fascinating, I find myself melting into the song, while imagining how enjoyable
it would be to hear an extended version of it played live. The use of steel pans gives the
super-poppy “Only One” an infusion of Caribbean flavor. This is one of those songs that can easily
get stuck in one’s head.
“Spring
to Come”, the opening track, catches my attention with a rhythm reminiscent of Rusted Root, and a message of hope and encouragement
reminding us that ‘out of the darkness, only the light can come’.
Gerathy uses a very industrial
sounding percussion to begin “Livin’ in the City” with. After a few measures, the
song melts into a really funky rhythm accented with bluesy and psychedelic
guitar riffs. Like Anthony Keidis, Butler rolls
his vocals out quickly and very pronounced.
I really like this one. “Devil
Woman” is another track I am infatuated with. Tribal beats set a foundation for
a wild old-time spiritual romp intended to exorcise a different kind of demon.
A
splendid album to listen to, Flesh and
Blood invokes an assortment of emotions and feelings. Some songs put me in my quiet space, as
others make me want to dance. I just can’t
seem to stop listening.
