Will Butler + Square Sisters – ‘Will Butler + Square Sisters’ album review: an avant-garde expansion of the musical palette
It’s never easy dealing with family in the music industry. Although Will Butler has made a name for himself as a big player in indie music, his work alongside his brother in Arcade Fire has put a mantle of pressure on anything he releases by default. Even though Butler may have expectations riding high for his debut album with the band Sister Squares, he can certainly rise to the challenge that his last name carries.
Across 14 tracks, Butler tests out many musical avenues far more unconventional from where he’s been. Although there are bits and pieces of Arcade Fire’s later work hidden in songs like ‘Stop Talking’ and ‘Willows’, the main draw of the album is about taking the classic tropes of rock ‘n’ roll and twisting them on their head.
Picking up where his proper solo effort, Generations, left off, Will Butler + Sister Squares benefits from taking both the organic and synthetic sides of rock music together and putting them under one roof. Although the record’s sound aligns with what Butler had been doing previously, songs like ‘Old Year’ show him looking even further backwards, breaking out the acoustic and putting together a tender ballad that could pass for a decent Neil Young B-side.
Outside of Butler’s stirring performance, his backing band brings their A-game to every track. Despite the homespun feeling to a handful of tunes, songs like ‘Arrow of Time’ rely on the live band arrangement to come crashing in, practically giving fans the closest thing to a new wave song on the entire project.
Many songs on the album take full advantage of the band mentality, edging closer to genres like heartland rock through most of its runtime. Pulling pages from the Springsteen playbook, songs like ‘Long Grass’ and ‘Saturday Night’ are striking images of what everyday life should be, wanting nothing more than to bask in the simple pleasures of life.
While there are different cohesive moments on the record, each song seems to have a separate identity. Outside of the opening organ swell leading the band in at the album’s start, it feels like Butler is looking to create music vignettes within the listener’s mind as he tries his best to work as a musical chameleon.
Even though more than a few songs pack a punch, there are times when Butler tries on different musical costumes he isn’t suited for. Despite the novel concept, a song like ‘I’m Standing in a Room’ tends to feel like a poor man’s Tom Waits, as Butler looks around the room in a semi-ironic attempt to describe everything that’s going on as an elevator-music-esque drone plays in the background.
And while making a collection of musical vignettes across the album is a fun idea in practice, it does make for a jarring listening experience going from one song to another. Considering the amount of thought and effort that was put into the transition between ‘Me and My Friends’ and ‘Saturday Night’, other songs on the record feel like they should be a part of their separate project, only to be shoehorned into the album at the last minute.
Regardless of the tonal inconsistencies here and there, Butler has come through with a decent take on indie rock that will be sticking with fans for a few years between his next projects. While it might not reach the same heights as his solo material or work with Arcade Fire, Will Butler + Sister Squares is the perfect example of an artist trying something new and translating that excited energy onto the tape.
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