Don't be confused by its traditional jazz-sounding moniker, the John Butler Trio; its music isn't necessarily jazz. And don't be confused by the dreadlocks that reach halfway down front man John Butler's back; he's not a Rasta (although some reggae-infused beats do make their way into the music). The John Butler Trio draws from a potpourri of sounds that mix and melt together on the new Sunrise Over Sea so that the band can't be pigeonholed into a single category.

Born in the United States but raised in Australia, John Butler began busking after discovering open guitar tuning while attending university. His street performances became so popular he moved into clubs and from there, Butler's career simply snowballed. He formed the trio, independently released an album and now he's one of the hottest musicians down under.

Sunrise Over Sea debuted at number one on the Australian charts and went double platinum in 10 weeks, and Butler also nabbed three awards at Australia's Grammy-equivalent in 2004. Having effectively conquered his home country, Butler and gang are now turning to the United States with the help of Lava Records, who released the CD stateside.

The album opens with a slinky lapsteel on "Treat Yo Mama" — a fast introduction to Butler's environmentally-conscious leanings: "I got a couple of sistas in South Australia stopping the uranium from coming up. Oh yeah, man, you know they know what she need. They're stopping all of that government corporate greed."

"Damned to Hell" also highlights Butler's mentality and is an album stand-out in general with its rusty, crackly recording sound. Armed with just a banjo, the Aussie lays down some old-time picking while filtered, tin-can vocals say, "Damned to hell is what you are. Can you hear the church bells toll? All the money you have made can't save your sorry soul."

Butler plays on 11 and 12-string guitars, pulling off some intricate finger picking on the intense instrumental "Mist" thanks to the acrylic nails he wears on his right hand, and a mean slide on "Zebra" and "Company Sin" convince you you're sitting in the Delta. Congas, shakers, a djembe, a marimba and other percussion instruments add a world feel to many of the tracks on Sunrise Over Sea as well.

Lush, dark, brooding strings add depth to "What You Want" and "Bound to Ramble," and "Old Man" turns into all-out rocker after Butler utters, "He saw security man look like policeman, saw the police start looking like the army man, saw the army start acting like the CIA and guess what the CIA was the president."

Butler's deep vocals dance on the edge of hip-hop, spoken-word and even include some scatting.

These vocal stylings allow for some soulful, down home harmonies, although towards the end of the album the sound can wear a bit thin. Butler takes it down a notch with some soft singing on "Peaches & Cream" — a beautiful confessional written to his daughter Banjo — and further experimentation like that would be welcomed.

But nit-picking aside, Sunrise Over Sea pulses with plenty of funky energy while remaining serious, and it's a whole lotta homespun fun.

Grade: AB

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 14 2005.