Arcade Fire’s Will Butler marks his solo venture with a frantic and magical first album.
Blink and you might have missed it, but Will Butler (the quieter brother from Arcade Fire) announced his first attempt at a solo endeavour earlier this year – I say announced, whispered might have been a more apt description.
But from the off it is evident that ‘Policy’ is no shrinking violet. The opening track ‘Take my side’ with its scratchy rhythm guitar is a bouncing blues number with a real hillbilly groove. I defy you to keep your toe from tapping!
Much like his full-time band’s back catalogue, ‘Policy’ straddles a wide spectrum of genres, which is no mean feat when you consider it’s only eight songs long and was recorded in a matter of weeks – three to be precise.
‘Policy’ by Will Butler was released on March 10th by Merge Records.
Three songs in, ‘Finish what I started’ is a slower and brilliantly crafted ballad with echoes of Neil Young and Billy Joel. It just goes to show how greatly gifted Arcade Fire are as a band with fantastically able songwriters in every corner of the studio.
If you’re looking for a stark comparison to his day job then I guess you could really look no further than ‘What I want’, a chugging juggernaut in which Butler discusses, among other things, his secret to a fantastic recipe for mac’n’cheese.
Based on this delicious first serving it’s fair to say that Will has unfairly stood in his brother’s shadow (Win Butler is the main catalyst behind Arcade Fire’s songwriting).
But like the old saying goes it’s the quiet ones you’ve got to look out for or in this case listen out for. The final track ‘Witness’ sounds like it’s leaping straight from John Lennon’s white Steinway piano, on which Butler asks “can I get a witness…”
Well Will, on this evidence I reckon you can expect a lot more witnesses and fans after this fantastic first album. Anything that Arcade Fire members touch will generally turn to gold and I’ll be awaiting Butler’s next release with as much anticipation as I’ll have for Arcade Fire’s next offering.
