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Alternative PressMar 2, 2015Policy feels a bit too plotted, too controlled. The best moments come when Butler loosens his grip a bit. [Apr 2015, p.92]
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Mar 6, 2015Every song has its own character, with each one further clarifying Will as a great musician and songwriter in his own right, as though there were any doubts.
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MagnetMar 12, 2015Policy shows that Will is more than capable of getting the kids to wake up. [No. 118, p.53]
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MojoApr 21, 2015Policy is a dazzling execution of one man's crazed vision. [May 2015, p.91]
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Mar 10, 2015In sum, there’s enough varied, interesting and accessible material here to make Butler’s sonic manifesto worth paying attention to.
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Mar 2, 2015Policy is a gloriously unhinged sprawl of a record, but fittingly for the man who constructed sparse piano tech-paeans for the soundtrack to Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie Her, the downbeat moments resonate, too.
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Mar 5, 2015The grand aesthetic that makes Arcade Fire such a force is on full display. But compared to last year's plodding AF album, Reflektor, Butler gets to the point so much quicker.
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Mar 10, 2015When Butler isn’t taking cues from the music he grew up with, he’s more prone to wander around in just-nice-enough piano balladry. But when he is, he ends up with something which seems to bear his own identity more than it could otherwise.
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Mar 6, 2015Policy's highlights maintain a precarious balance between classicism and cataclysm, but the album often tips too far in either direction.
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Mar 4, 2015A harmless, infectious rock record that channels the sounds and concerns of a more innocent, less technologically complicated time.
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Q MagazineMar 3, 2015It's a quintessential extra-curricular album, straining every which way, but an excellent and oddly coherent one. [Apr 2015, p.97]
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Mar 3, 2015On Policy, he proves that he's worth more than playing second or third fiddle.
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Mar 9, 2015This is the birth of Will Butler, solo artist, whose career seems just as woozily unpredictable and captivating as that of his "day job."
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Mar 6, 2015He never carves out a distinctive sound for himself, opting instead to show off the breadth of his musical abilities--it's impressive, yes, but noncommittal.
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Mar 10, 2015This is a terrific opening volley from a musician seemingly just beginning to tap an overflowing surfeit of songwriting riches.
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Mar 5, 2015They’re all terrific songs.
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Mar 2, 2015Although the sometimes scattergun approach to genre-hopping has its drawbacks, what’s great about Policy is the future possibilities it allows Will Butler.
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Mar 9, 2015Policy is twitchy and endearingly ramshackle, channelling the can-do spirit of early-80s indie and the affability of Jonathan Richman.
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UncutMar 2, 2015A ramshackle, frequently over-the-top barrage of familiar rock tropes appropriated in the service of an unmitigated romp. [Apr 2015, p.72]
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Mar 6, 2015["Sing to Me" is] a small blemish on a record that is as refreshing for the listener as it is for Butler himself.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 22 out of 31
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Mixed: 7 out of 31
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Negative: 2 out of 31
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Mar 10, 2015
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Mar 11, 2015
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Feb 19, 2018