| Policy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 10 March 2015 | |||
| Recorded | Electric Lady Studios | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, garage rock, indie pop | |||
| Length | 27:20 | |||
| Label | Merge | |||
| Will Butler chronology | ||||
| ||||
Policy is the debut solo album by Will Butler, best known for his work in Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. The album was released on March 10, 2015 by Merge Records. [1]
Butler set out to make an album akin to what he calls "American Music". Butler has stated that "Policy is American music—in the tradition of the Violent Femmes, The Breeders, The Modern Lovers, Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson, The Magnetic Fields, Ghostface Killah, and John Lennon (I know, but it counts)." He has called this type of music "Music where the holy fool runs afoul of the casual world". [1]
Policy was recorded in a week in Jimi Hendrix's old living room, which is now Studio C at Electric Lady Studios. Butler recorded it during a short break on Arcade Fire's Reflektor tour. All songs were recorded there, with the exception of "Something's Coming", which was recorded in Aaron Dessner's home recording studio, the recording place of The National. Additional work for the song was done in the basement of drummer Jeremy Gara. [2] Most of the instrumentation had been done by Butler, with the exception of drums that were done by Gara, also of Arcade Fire. He also "Had a couple of friends come in to do clarinet, saxophone and backing vocals". [3]
The album was released on March 10, 2015, on the Merge Records website. The album was released digitally as a CD and an LP. Two singles were released before the launch of the album. They were "Take My Side" and "Anna". Both songs were released on the label's SoundCloud page, and a music video for "Anna" was released on Butler's YouTube channel.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100 [4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| NOW |   [5] |
| Spin | 8/10 [6] |
| Pitchfork Media | 6.6/10 [7] |
| NME | 7/10 [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| Magnet | 8.5/10 [10] |
| Exclaim! | 6/10 [11] |
| Slant Magazine |  [12] |
Policy received mostly positive reviews upon its release. It holds a Metacritic score of 72/100, aggregating "generally favorable reviews". [13] A review from Rolling Stone praised the album for its intent on making what Butler calls "American Music", while still retaining a little bit of Arcade Fire, saying that "The first solo album by the younger Butler sibling in Arcade Fire is less than half the length of his band's 2013 Reflektor . Policy is also more playful, a montage of impulses — crunchy rock, apocalyptic electro-disco, solo-John Lennon balladry — that come like whiplash... In the melodic arc of "Son of God", a slice of The Suburbs skinned down to the folk-rock jitters of the Violent Femmes." [14] SPIN said "This is the birth of Will Butler, solo artist, whose career seems just as woozily unpredictable and captivating as that of his 'day job'". [6] Dean Essner of Consequence of Sound had mixed feelings about Policy: "May just be too slight to be successful, forcing its shortcomings to be amplified even if there are, in fact, many things to enjoy about this record".
All tracks are written by Will Butler, except where noted
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Take My Side" | 3:48 | |
| 2. | "Anna" | 3:52 | |
| 3. | "Finish What I Started" | 2:21 | |
| 4. | "Son of God" | 2:53 | |
| 5. | "Something's Coming" | Butler, Marcel Dzama, Jeremy Gara, Tim Kingsbury | 3:18 |
| 6. | "What I Want" | 4:10 | |
| 7. | "Sing to Me" | 3:24 | |
| 8. | "Witness" | 3:29 | |
| Total length: | 27:20 | ||
All other artists who worked on Policy are unnamed by Butler.
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montréal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member Sarah Neufeld and multi-instrumentalists Paul Beaubrun, Dan Boeckner and Eric Heigle. Each of the band's studio albums features contributions from composer and violinist Owen Pallett.
William Pierce Butler is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who is best known as a former member of the indie rock band Arcade Fire. He plays synthesizer, bass, guitar and percussion. He is known for his spontaneity and antics during performances. He is the younger brother of Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler. In 2014, Will Butler was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the original score of the 2013 film Her.
Funeral is the debut studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on September 14, 2004 by Merge Records. Preliminary recordings for Funeral were made during the course of a week in August 2003 at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal, Quebec, and the recording was completed later that year all in an analogue recording format.
Richard Reed Parry is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, best known as a core member of the Grammy Award-winning indie rock band Arcade Fire, where he plays a wide variety of instruments, often switching between guitar, double bass, drums, celesta, keyboards, and accordion.
Tim Kingsbury is a Canadian musician and member of the indie rock band Arcade Fire. He plays bass guitar, guitar, and occasionally keyboards.
Arcade Fire is an extended play (EP) by the indie rock band Arcade Fire. The EP was recorded in Maine, United States, during the summer of 2002. Arcade Fire was remastered and repackaged for its 2005 re-release by Merge Records for fans after they had "grown obsessed" with the band's debut album, Funeral. It was initially released in 2003 by the band at their shows and website, and then re-released in 2005 by Merge. It received positive reviews from music critics, although some of them noted that it was inferior to their debut album Funeral. Lyrical themes of Arcade Fire consist of parents, suburbia, new love, dread, and drama. The EP's third track, "No Cars Go", was re-recorded for Arcade Fire's second full-length album, Neon Bible. No Cars Go has been played at the majority of live shows since the EP release. Arcade Fire have also played other songs from the EP, live on every tour since, however, it has become less frequent. On their recent tours, they notably played "Headlights Look Like Diamonds" and "Vampire/Forest Fire".
David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. In the 1990s, he was the magazine's music editor before stepping down.
James Jeremiah Murphy is an American musician, DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His most well-known musical project is LCD Soundsystem, which first gained attention with its single "Losing My Edge" in 2002 before releasing its eponymous debut album in February 2005 to critical acclaim and top 20 success in the UK. LCD Soundsystem's second and third studio albums, Sound of Silver (2007) and This Is Happening (2010) respectively, were met with universal acclaim from several music review outlets. Both albums have also reached the top 50 in the Billboard 200.
Jeremy Gara is a Canadian drummer from Ottawa, Ontario. He is most well known as the drummer of the band Arcade Fire. Gara is an active performer in a number of other projects, including work as a solo performer.
Sarah Neufeld is a Canadian violinist who is known for her work with indie rock band Arcade Fire, with whom she is a former core member and currently a touring member. She has contributed to each of the band's studio albums to date. Neufeld is also a member of the instrumental band Bell Orchestre.
Neon Bible is the second studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It was first released on March 5, 2007, in Europe and a day later in North America by Merge Records. Originally announced on December 16, 2006, through the band's website, the majority of the album was recorded at a church the band bought and renovated in Farnham, Quebec. The album is the first to feature drummer Jeremy Gara, and the first to include violinist Sarah Neufeld among the band's core line-up.
"Keep the Car Running" is a song by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It is the second single released from the band's second album, Neon Bible in the UK. This song was #22 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 61 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
The Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire has released six studio albums, three extended plays and twenty-four singles.
The Suburbs is the third studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on August 2, 2010. Coinciding with its announcement, the band released a limited edition 12-inch single containing the title track and "Month of May". The album debuted at No. 1 on the Irish Albums Chart, the UK Albums Chart, the US Billboard 200 chart, and the Canadian Albums Chart. It won Album of the Year at the 2011 Grammy Awards, Best International Album at the 2011 BRIT Awards, Album of the Year at the 2011 Juno Awards, and the 2011 Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album. Two weeks after winning Grammy's Album of the Year, the album jumped from No. 52 to No. 12 on the Billboard 200, the album's highest ranking since August 2010.
"Ready to Start" is a single from Arcade Fire's third album The Suburbs. It was released as a single on October 3, 2010. The band performed "Ready to Start" as their second performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards, immediately following The Suburbs winning Album of the Year. The band also performed the song at the Brit Awards several days after the Grammy Awards.
Rubblebucket is an American art-pop and indie-rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The primary members are musical couple Annakalmia Traver and Alex Toth.
Reflektor is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on October 28, 2013, through Sonovox Records internationally and Merge Records in the United States. A double album, it was recorded between 2011 and 2013 at studios in Montreal, Jamaica, and Louisiana. It was co-produced by LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, regular Arcade Fire producer Markus Dravs, and the band themselves.
"Reflektor" is a song by the Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It was released on September 9, 2013, as the first single from and the title track to the band's fourth studio album. Produced by James Murphy, Markus Dravs and the band itself, the song features a guest vocal appearance by David Bowie and was released on a limited edition 12" vinyl credited to the fictional band The Reflektors. Two music videos were made for the song, one regular and one interactive, both being released on the day of the song's release. "Reflektor" was met with positive reviews, with critics often complimenting its musical approach. It also came second in NME's list of best singles of 2013. The song had a positive commercial performance, charting in several countries.
"Afterlife" is a song by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It was released on September 28, 2013, as a single from the band's fourth studio album, Reflektor. The song was debuted on Saturday Night Live.
"We Exist" is a song by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire from their fourth studio album, Reflektor (2013). It was released digitally as the third single from the album on 26 May 2014 via Sonovox. The music video for the song, starring Andrew Garfield, was released on 16 May 2014.
