Artist: Will Butler
Album: Generations
Label: Merge Records
Release Date: 9.25.20
A wellness check on America’s broken body politic, with its seemingly incurable socio-political cancers and fractures that may never heal right, the idealistic and dramatic Generations is the manic sophomore solo album from Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Will Butler. It swerves all over the road, as its driver, the brother of the art-rock collective’s charismatic leader and co-founder Win Butler, has a head full of worry, anxiety, anger and doubt. Thankfully, he pulls over to a clearing at the end to catch his breath, finding an empty hall to meditate on family history.
“Fine,” with its spare, intimate reading of Butler genealogy mixed with historical fiction and the complicated legacy of George Washington, gently concludes Generations in an affecting ballad that feels timely.. What takes place earlier is a genre-defyling whirlwind of mood swings and epic music-making reminiscent of Arcade Fire’s transcendent glory, with the windy “Bethlehem” a galvanizing, full-on guitar riot blowing trashy riffs everywhere before suddenly slipping into cosmic reverie and a rollicking “Surrender” going to church and playfully singing and clapping its infectious, swinging gospel euphoria over rolling piano. The dry groove of the defiant opener “Outta Here” is fortified by strong, sleek EDM beats while faint shooting stars fly overhead. Irresistibly clinical and warped, “Hard Times” is wired similarly, as the clean, bobbing synth-pop of “Hide It Away” softly skips and bounces, but also repeatedly throws pummeling tantrums long after the sweetly melodic “Close My Eyes” casually strolls by, whistling as it walks.
Darkness washes over the troubled mind of a throbbing “I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know,” and an uprising grows, intensely exploding and mushrooming into a wider expanse. While sincerely and earnestly admitting that answers are hard to come by, it snarls at lazy, wrongheaded attempts to lay blame for society’s ills at someone else’s feet. With his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University and by immersing himself in local issues through town halls he’s hosted, Will Butler is eminently qualified to conduct this inquest. He relies on the stirring backing vocals and instrumental power of his band—comprising Miles Francis, Sara Dobbs and Julie and Jenny Shore—to carry his literate passions and reflections, touching on both personal and political concerns, to higher ground.
—Peter Lindblad
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