John Butler Trio

John Butler Trio’s latest offering 'April Uprising’ is a confusing piece to say the least. While it may seem a negative comment to make, this is a glorified covers album,..but this is far from a bad thing.

From 'Nada Surf’ esc opener 'Revolution’ to the change the singer’s name and you get the Ben Harper Trio’s 'I’d Do Anything’, it’s obvious the band wear their influences on their sleeve, but it’s extremely hard not to like.

The most enjoyable aspect of 'April Uprising’ is you understand these songs were meant to be heard live. There are sing along choruses, foot tapping jams and downright dance the night away stompers. Even tracks like 'Johnny’s Gone’ will make you want to pick up your guitar at a barbeque and jam with friends.

This is as good as the album gets however. It fails to break any boundaries on the group’s previous work and at 15 tracks and over an hour length, overkill becomes the word of the day. Numbers like 'Close to You’ have the distinction of being both enjoyable and grating at the same time and this continues after you see 'Track 9 of 15' on your ipod. It’s just too much to get through on one sitting and the lows come at the worst possible points on the album. 'Take Me’ and 'Steal It’ would have been nice b-sides to singles, but here they manage to disjoint the jigsaw rather than complete it.

One of the biggest pluses for this album is its release date. It has that upbeat summery feel that everyone is starting to get a thirst for, and certainly will go hand in hand with any full moon beach party.