Brandon L. Butler: Press

The name Brandon Butler may not be familiar, but any fan of indie-rock and emo probably is aware of Butler's previous projects. He fronted one of the most overlooked emo bands of the mid- to late-90s, Boys Life, which produced two of the finest albums in the vein of Christie Front Drive and Mineral. One album with his next project, Farewell Bend, showed a more hooky indie-rock style with those same emo leanings. Then Butler disappeared for a while, re-emerging with his project Canyon, on which his unique vocal styles took a more country- and folk-based rock sound. Now Butler has released his first album under his own name, and Killer on the Road shows a mature, strong songwriter with an extremely unique voice.


Butler's joined on this album by cellist and pianist Amy Domingues, who adds a lovely and lighter accompaniment to his guitar and voice, and the production by Fugazi veteran Brendan Canty (with Butler) maintains a raw style that fits the songs perfectly. Butler has a raw, whiskey-soaked voice an octave or so higher than one might expect, and while it may have sounded out of place to some in his earlier rock offerings, it fits here nicely. He has a country-esque twang that doesn't sound at all forced, and the soft acoustic tracks speak of a harsh Midwestern life.


The title track kicks things off, with the cello adding a dark and sweet touch to this standout song. The country style of guitar on "First Day" feels more akin to Butler's Canyon work, while there's some nice studio effects to provide an echoey quality to the quiet "Throwing Roses." The stark "Sixty Stitches" is an especially moving storytelling track, and the closing "True Believer" sounds like Butler was perhaps recording the song live in a large space, the echoes of his softly plucked strings tinkling in the background, his voice stark and prominent.


The more upbeat "Sparks" finds Butler providing both melody and rhythm through his stellar and often beautiful guitar playing. The rock-n-rolling "Next Time" is another fun, upbeat tracks, with some rhythm and what sounds like mandolin adding a nice touch to the song. Butler adds a few recording moments into the powerful "Surrounded By Flowers," which adds some rich piano and feels like a more enveloping song.


Butler's voice and style reminds me of Lucero frontman Ben Nichols. For singer/songwriter fare, it definitely leans toward the country side of things, but the songs here evoke the rich songwriting style of Neil Young more than Willie Nelson, and Butler pulls it off as if he's lived a hundred years, his raw voice and stark style proving it. This is a stellar album, and it's far and away better, in my opinion, than the Canyon albums that seemed to lead Butler in this direction.

Free of band constraints, Butler is more intimate and playful than Canyon's country grandeur might allow. Whereas the latter's Empty Rooms (2002) married Pink Floyd spaciousness to Mojave 3's wounded wanderlust, Killer On The Road reinvents BB as a hard-travelled tourbadour, a carpetbag of blues in tow. Gripping it is, too, from the unadorned "Good Intentions" to the muted country revivalism of "Next Time" and grisly tough-luck tale "Rio Grande Rail". Confirmation, if it were needed, of a major talent.

Brandon Butler didn't exactly introduce his band at the Black Cat's backstage Tuesday. But while taking a timeout to tune his guitar -- a task he repeated a few times during his 50-minute set -- Butler bragged, "Hey, I got a good drummer, two talented Asian guys and a black sport coat -- I can sound good doing whatever."

Butler's constant tuning wasn't the only running joke of the night. ("I'm really sorry about this," he said another time. "This is awkward for the both of us.") His drummer was a last-minute substitute, which Butler pointed out frequently, even if he seemed fairly confident in the lineup change -- until a few songs in, at least, when Butler remarked, "This is where it gets interesting. He's never heard this one before!"
Though the show was sometimes clearly off-the-cuff -- Butler cueing the drummer, the bass player guiding the group's fine violinist during a song he wasn't familiar with -- Butler and his backing trio played his jangly roots-rock with contagious energy and surprising tightness.

The set was dominated by songs that alternated driving drums with delicate acoustic guitar -- which Butler would then strum the hell out of at the end. But every once in a while the group would break out in old-school, slow-burning country blues, whose melodies could break your heart even if you didn't know the words.

-- Tricia Olszewsk

Brandon first made waves leading emo notables Boys Life and later his more indie-sounding Farewell Band. After that, he focused his modest talents with the most excellent alt-country band Canyon, finding time here and there to work on his solo output. On his sophomore solo effort "he is proof that the great American songwriter still exists, making records that take you through a years worth of experience in forty-five minutes. Love songs that will make your hands ache!" "Full of rootsy rock that just sorta sounds perfect on a bleak and gray day. His raw and weather-beaten voice reminds me of Tom Petty, with just a slight country twang that sounds a natural fit for the music. The end result is a little more traditional rock and country-folk but also retains (at times) a little of the atmospheric feel of his Canyon material. By day he is a carpenter and on nights he isn't playing music he's a bartender. The tunes reflect that and fall somewhere between Neil Young and Lucero" - CanYouSeeTheSunset.com "From the jangle of roots rock on tunes like 'Sparks', he outdoes himself with the slower, Americana-leaning 'Fire and The Wheel', which sounds sincere and not forced, sort of like Soul Asylum in an acoustic setting!" - PopMatters.com EXCELLENT!!!

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