-
8.0
73751
8.0 |
Digital Spy
It's good enough to rival much of his day job's noted output
Read Review
-
8.0
73764
8.0 |
The Guardian
They’re all terrific songs and – with the album title referring to Butler’s interest in how policy affects lives – he’s stuffed them with issues including God, money and armageddon
Read Review
-
8.0
73765
8.0 |
NOW
The 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
Read Review
-
8.0
73778
8.0 |
DIY
Every 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
Read Review
-
8.0
73840
8.0 |
The Observer
Twitchy and endearingly ramshackle, channelling the can-do spirit of early-80s indie and the affability of Jonathan Richman.
Read Review
-
8.0
73860
8.0 |
Q
It’s a quintessential extra-curricular album, but an excellent and oddly coherent one. Print edition only
-
8.0
73883
8.0 |
Spin
A wisely crafted piece of tomfoolery
Read Review
-
8.0
74397
8.0 |
Mojo
Butler junior's time is now. Print edition only
-
7.5
73937
7.5 |
Beardfood
A varied yet cohesive set of intense pop songs, full of soul, delivered with confidence
Read Review
-
7.5
73779
7.5 |
Under The Radar
As refreshing for the listener as it is for Butler himself
Read Review
-
7.5
73752
7.5 |
Pretty Much Amazing
A harmless, infectious rock record that channels the sounds and concerns of a more innocent, less technologically complicated time
Read Review
-
7.3
73944
7.3 |
Paste Magazine
Policy is more celebration than veneration, more an awards show than hero worship
Read Review
-
7.0
73921
7.0 |
musicOMH
There’s enough varied, interesting and accessible material here to make Butler’s sonic manifesto worth paying attention to
Read Review
-
7.0
73753
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
The ability to generate consistent melodicism across such a broad range of styles is the mark of an adventurous songwriter who isn't content to fall back on rote formula
Read Review
-
7.0
73754
7.0 |
NME
A gloriously unhinged sprawl of a record
Read Review
-
7.0
73771
7.0 |
The 405
A deft and skilful, if not totally compelling, record. Policy is not an anti-Arcade Fire album in any obvious sense, but Will Butler certainly makes comparison a difficult thing to do
Read Review
-
7.0
73749
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Although the sometimes scattergun approach to genre-hopping has its drawbacks, what’s great about Policy is the future possibilities it allows Will Butler
Read Review
-
7.0
73859
7.0 |
Uncut
A ramshackle, frequently over the top barrage of familiar rock tropes. Print edition only
-
6.6
73784
6.6 |
Pitchfork
Policy's highlights maintain a precarious balance between classicism and cataclysm, but the album often tips too far in either direction
Read Review
-
6.0
73785
6.0 |
Clash
Although there's nothing exactly groundbreaking here, 'Policy' packs plenty of personality and attitude
Read Review
-
6.0
73878
6.0 |
PopMatters
A quaint and breezy record that just happens to sound exactly like what it is — an Arcade Fire solo effort
Read Review
-
6.0
73931
6.0 |
Rolling Stone
A montage of impulses — crunchy rock, apocalyptic electro-disco, solo-John Lennon balladry — that come like whiplash
Read Review
-
6.0
73893
6.0 |
Exclaim
It may take Butler a few more albums to carve out his own identity from the monolithic entity he's a part of, but there are plenty of plausible ideas on Policy for Butler to continue exploring
Read Review
-
6.0
73900
6.0 |
All Music
For an album that clocks in at just under 28 minutes, Policy manages to drop a ton of ideas, but if often feels more like a purge than a mission statement
Read Review
-
6.0
74147
6.0 |
The Independent
Enjoyable enough, but one hopes that for its follow-up, Butler takes time to find the most accomplished realisations of his material
Read Review
-
5.8
73750
5.8 |
Consequence Of Sound
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
Read Review
-