Sibling relationships often spur a younger sibling’s determination to differentiate themselves from the familial pack.
Will Butler, 32, brother and bandmate of Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler, debuted his first solo effort last week, Policy. Whatever his true motivation behind the release, he walked onstage at Maggie Mae’s Pop Montreal showcase Friday night looking a whole lot like his older bro, but sporting a black shirt with giant block letters: WILL.
To be fair, the rest of the band has their respective names on their show wear.
“Very happy to be here!” beamed Butler before his band commenced with Sixties-tinged rocker “Take My Side.” LP standout “Anna” conjured New Wave dance-pop, the singer’s Buddy Holly hiccup sounding idiosyncratically delightful. Perhaps sound and/or monitor issues were to blame, but the trio of female backup singers detracted from otherwise strong songs.
Their singing was off-key and far too loud.
Stylistically, nearly every tune could land comfortably on an Arcade Fire album. The show’s set list adhered to Policy with the same track ordering, “Witness” closing the set playfully. At 30 minutes, it seemed awfully brief until recalling that the disc clocks in at just 27 minutes.
Easy to get lost in the mix of the collective that is Arcade Fire, but the youngest Butler brother appeared confident and able in his frontman role, retaining the raucous stage presence for which he’s become known.
Complete SXSW Music coverage at austinchronicle.com/sxsw/music
This article appears in March 20 • 2015.