Will Butler Says Upcoming Solo Work Was ‘Kind of Forced’ on Him

Arcade Fire’s Will Butler will release his debut solo effort, Policy, next month, but the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is saying his latest effort was “kind of forced” on him.

After Butler scored Spike Jonze’s 2013 Oscar-winning film, Her -- a task he undertook after his brother and sister-in-law (and bandmates) Win Butler and Regine Chassagne had to back out after announcing they were expecting their first baby -- the younger Butler said the resulting limelight from the film pushed him into his new solo work.

“[Solo work] was kind of forced on me; I feel like my name was suddenly out there,” Butler said in an interview with NME.

In the same breath, Butler also said Policy will be more light-hearted than Arcade Fire’s often introspective output – while simultaneously comparing it to Moby Dick.

“There’s a little more dumb humor than you find in Arcade Fire,” he added. “To me, it’s a bit like the world of Moby Dick – you think of it as a serious work of American literature, but it starts off with this slapstick sequence and jokes and whale penises.”

While we attempt to figure out just how that will translate into Butler’s debut LP, we’re taking a second spin of the album’s first two tracks, "Take My Side" and "Anna," both of which Butler unveiled over the past few months ahead of Policy's March 16 release via Merge Records.

Butler will head out on tour at the beginning of March, kicking things off in New York City on March 3. Find a full list of dates here.