IN REVIEW: Will Butler - "Generations"

 

There's a case to be made for Will Butler, usually in the shadow of his brother Win, being the secret weapon of Arcade Fire. He proved as much five years ago when he released his debut solo album Policy, and he's proven it again on Generations, an album that proves to be more robust (two extra songs, 16 minutes longer) and more cohesive; though Butler displays some of that same restless exploration that he did on Policy, these songs flow better into each other and, in turn, make for a more compelling and consistent listen.

By times, Generations sounds like what probably should have followed The Suburbs rather than the difficult, star-gazing posturing of Reflektor; at the very least, it's certainly a stark improvement over the banal, uninspired commercial embrace of Everything Now. Nothing here is overly pretentious or so assured in its artistic excellence that it comes off as snobby and/or dumb; instead, Generations is a humble album with some flavourful splashes of neon used as additives rather than a masking agent to cover up a lack of good creative ideas.

I don't mean to shit on Arcade Fire; I admit they remain perhaps the biggest indie rock band of all time, which no doubt carries with it a certain degree of pressure that could result in a distinct loss of the plot. Although, that would go a ways toward explaining how an album by their third most recognizable member could be so much more interesting than anything his parent band has done in the last decade.

September 25, 2020 • Merge

Highlights Outta Here • I Don't Know What I Don't Know • Surrender