John Butler: PRISM
Australian singer/ songwriter John Butler doesn’t waste any time sitting on his past success. His new solo set, PRISM is a creative rejuvenation for an artist marking a bold new chapter—his first proper solo album without his longtime band, John Butler Trio. PRISM is the third installment of a four-part project, Four Seasons, and, so far, the only to feature lyrics and pop grooves. The first, Running River, is 100 minutes of New Age gentle rhythms; the second, Still Searching, includes six of Butler’s virtuosic guitar tracks. PRISM stands out with personal self-reflections of love and loss. Butler described the time he worked on PRISM as an “existential breakdown,” coinciding with the death of his father and father-in-law and a period of deep struggle with his wife, Danielle. Working with Aussie-indie producer James Ireland (Pond, San Cisco), Butler returns to sharing his experiences through storytelling, lacing them with funk, acoustic melodies, epic guitar instrumentals and pedal-board wizardry. The album’s upbeat nature causes the listener to forget the more melancholy themes of death, aging and life-cycle growing pains. Furthermore, “So Sorry” captures Butler’s reflections on these themes as he sings, “Long relationships end up having a lot of water under the bridge/ We end up saying and doing things we live to regret/ No one gets out unscathed.” “Trippin On You” continues this exploration of the ups and downs of relationships while “Leave the Rest to Earth” is about the complicated loss of a parent. With a newly assembled band featuring original John Butler Trio member Michael Barker (drums), Michael Boase (percussion) and Ian Peres (bass/keys), the album hits all the melodic notes with soul and, occasionally, some infectious anthemic pop choruses.
