After the success of the single ‘Believer’ in late 2014, APRA New Songwriter Finalist Brad Butcher has just released his sophomore record Jamestown and is hitting the road this week to celebrate. In celebration of the release, we’re excited to bring you an exclusive full stream of the album as well as a track-by-track from the Alt Country singer. Listen to Jamestown here and then enjoy Brad’s track-by-track right after!
Simple Things: This is a coming of age song in a way. I’ve finally reached a point in my life that I’m content and happy and I no longer need a rush or high to feel like I’m living. Its the simple things, after all, that are the most important to me and this song is a direct and honest reflection of that.
Stone Cold: There is a hidden theme throughout a few of the songs on the album which is of the struggle to succeed, to have a goal and be striving for it. For me its the long and consistent barrelling highway trying to turn a dream into a reality and dealing with the enormous highs and lows associated with it. The female character in Stone Cold is my ‘Dream’ and you need to grow a thick skin and a strong stomach if your gonna keep up with it.
Believer: is a song written for anyone who’s ever been torn in 2 directions and at their wits end to find a solution.
Lost Years: I wrote this song with country music legend, and good friend Allan Casswel, at his home in the Blue Mountains. Its a song about dealing with and overcoming Anxiety. Its an honest and open recollection of how I used to live within my mind. I learned to recognise and understand why I felt like this, that there wasn’t anything wrong with me, and to speak about it to my friends and family. Anxiety and/or Depression effects 1 in 3 men and 1 in 6 women if your feeling down please contact beyondblue today.
Jamestown: It tells the true story of the first english settlers landing on the Virginian shores of the Chesapeake Bay in 1607 and of their hardest years trying to establish land and food. I began thinking about this song after reading of a young Australian man, Chris Lane, who was shot and killed while jogging down the street in August 2013 by 3 young men who later claimed they did so because they were bored.
I went in search of a story to try and shed some light on the fact that we really haven’t come that far as humans and sadly we are as barbaric today as we were over 400 years ago, if not more. I can only hope someday we can all learn something from the past and make a positive change for future generations to come.
Always You: This track is loosely based on a true story also. It depicts a love shared throughout a lifetime and how deep the desire for another can reach.
Two Women: …isn’t written about two women at all. Its really written about 1 woman, my day job and my music aspirations. The Two Women are my FIFO day job, she’s the level headed lady I speak of in the second verse of the song, and my music being the devilish lady in the first verse. Its about finding a balance between the two halves of my life and about how without my job it would make it very difficult to maintain my musical schedule i.e. like a handshake without a thumb
In the final line of the song is my payoff to the real lady in my life: ‘I don’t want these Two Women if I can’t have you’
In The Dark: This is a tale of despair and loneliness and the bleak outlook that surrounds having your heartbroken.
Coming Home: It was written after having spent so many months on the road touring and working. Its simply about that great feeling I get of knowing its time to head home and catch up with family and friends, the people who warm your heart.
Next Train: An old friend of mine emailed me a song that he had been writing for his wife, who had recently passed away, and asked if I could look at it and together we penned this very honest and heartfelt lyric. It just so happened that my grandfather passed away while I was in the states recording the album and for me this song took on a whole new level of meaning… so I dedicate this track to Ashley, Naomi and Pop.
Lay Your Head: The closing track on the record is a love song written from mother to daughter and father to son. That first moment you hold your new born child and you feel that little heart beat against you chest. Lay Your Head on me is written for that moment in time.
TOUR DATES
23rd April | Frankies Pizza by the Slice, Sydney, NSW
24th April | Goulburn Club, Goulburn, NSW
25th April | Smiths Alternative, Canberra, ACT
7th May | The Grace Darling, Melbourne, VIC
8th May | Babushka Bar, Ballarat, VIC
21st May | Grace Emily, Adelaide, SA
22nd May | The Singing Gallery, McLaren Vale, SA
23rd May | Royal Oak Hotel, Launceston, TAS
24th May | The Homestead, Hobart, TAS
5th June | Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre, Mackay, QLD
Jamestown is available now.
