Sunrise Over Sea

1	Treat Yo Mama 4:49
2	Peaches & Cream 6:43
3	Company Sin 4:38
4	Betterman 3:44
5	What You Want 5:21
6	Damned to Hell 1:47
7	Hello 4:26
8	Bound to Ramble 6:07
9	Seeing Angels 6:13
10	There'll Come a Time 3:34
11	Zebra 3:57
12	Mist 2:24
13	Oldman 5:10
14	Sometimes 17:22

Barnes & Noble

Like fellow Southern Hemisphere native Dave Matthews, the frontman of this eponymous trio seems so immersed in the music he makes that it's a safe bet that he'd wither if uprooted from it. The dreadlocked Butler cuts a wide swath through the sonic universe, scatting like a jazzbo one moment and uncoiling a Duane Allman–ish slide solo the next -- all the while maintaining a pretty solid grip on straight-ahead song structure. Considering the trio's penchant for live jam sessions, Sunrise Over Sea is surprisingly concise, with songs like the reggae-flavored self-empowerment ode "Zebra" and the straight-outta-Carolina folk plaint "Damned to Hell" making their case in short, sharp form. Not surprisingly, Butler often turns his attention to environmental issues -- connecting solidly at times, as on the seething, anti-corporate "Company Sin," and sinking under the weight of his own righteousness at others, notably on the treacly "There'll Come a Time." Fortunately, the earnestness ebbs often enough -- particularly on a brace of songs about Butler's daughter Banjo -- that listeners will be left with smiles, rather than furrowed brows. David Sprague

All Music Guide

The John Butler Trio's U.S. debut album, Sunrise Over Sea, is phenomenal -- from the opening notes of "Treat Yo Mama," a muscular and soulfully expressive roots rocker, to the final strains of the expansive, ten-minute-long opus "Sometimes." The John Butler Trio is arguably the best musical group Australia has to offer in 2005, and Butler's superb, bluesy riffs and innovative melodies are only part of the JBT musical equation. The sturdy rhythm section of Shannon Birchall (on bass) and Michael Barker (on drums) gives added life to hit contenders like the powerful "Company Sin" and the buoyant, breezy "Better Man." If the mid-album blues vignette "Damned to Hell" seems an ill fit at first, its lo-fi, banjo-strummed presentation shifts effortlessly into the warm, heartfelt "Hello." On occasion, as with the uplifting acoustic number "Peaches & Cream," Butler's voice recalls the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis, but Butler and his bandmembers are without question on their own trip. And one only needs to hear the magical love song "Seeing Angels" to feel the trio's transcendental power. John D. Luerssen

Rolling Stone

Butler's gripping lead guitar gives the music complexity and muscle. Will Dana