SOUND BITES

  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...

  As the towering, captivating frontman for Arcade Fire, Win Butler casts a large shadow. However, there's something to be said for younger brother Will who, as the guy who has earned his living in the background and thrashing around gleefully during live shows, proves to be a formidable contributor to his group if his debut solo record is any indication. Though I hesitate to call an 8-track, 27-minute collection an "album" (as it's being marketed and priced as),  Policy  has no shortage of ideas.  In fact, the thing that defines the record may be the thing that hinders it, and that's its scattershot approach. Songs wildly hop genres from one song to the next, from the raucous Arcade Fire boogie of  Take My Side  to the icy new wave pulse of  Anna  to the earnest piano ballad  Finish What I Started  to the speedy acoustic shuffle of  Son of God .  That's your A-side, and the B-side is no less eclectic, encompassing fuzzy, Clash...