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100 Albums: "Policy" by Will Butler

Kurt is going through his favorite records. Read the explainer or view the master list.

Artist: Will Butler
Title: Policy
Released: 2015
Genre: indie garage rock


Will Butler is better known as a member of The Arcade Fire, though not to be confused with his brother Win Butler who is the lead singer of that same band. Policy is Butler's first solo album, which--at only eight tracks and twenty-seven minutes--is really a glorified EP. Despite it's brevity it feels like a complete statement and oozes with self-assured swagger, as well as a fairly unique sound centered more around piano and saxophone than your normal guitar-and-bass rock setup. The lead single, Anna (embedded above) bounces and grooves around a staccato synth line accented with smashed-piano fills. It's also a favorite of my kids'.

Butler's voice is often thin and warbly--which I'm generally not a fan of, but he pulls it off. Anna is the standout track, but Son Of God, Witness, and What I Want are also excellent. I especially like the wackadoo lyrics of What I Want, in which Butler offers to buy someone a pony, then cook it for supper because he knows "a great recipe for pony macaroni." Or there's this bizarre sequence from the third verse:

Now I'm not saying that we should rush this
I'm not suggesting that we should start having kids but maybe
We could think about getting a dog
Or a fish tank or a jar of squids
Or maybe just a chicken coop full of alligators
I will go along with whatever you say
I'm not a details man...

It makes me laugh. And like all great lyrics, it has the air of something composed while on drugs.

Further Listening: Sorry folks, I've got nothing for you. I stumbled onto this album in a bundle, I think, and I don't listen to Arcade Fire. But chime in if you have any recommendations.

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