Generations

"My first record, Policy, was a book of short stories," Will Butler says. "Generations is more of a novel - despairing, funny, a little bit epic... A big chunk of this record is asking: What's my place in American history? What's my place in America's present? Both in general - as a participant, as we all are, in the events unfolding - but also extremely particularly: me as Will Butler, a rich person, a white person, a Mormon, a Yankee, a parent, and a musician of some sort, I guess. What do I do? What can I do? The record poses that question repeatedly, even if it's not offering many answers." Generations was recorded and produced by Butler in the basement of his home in Brooklyn. Tracking was completed in March 2020, as New York closed down due to the pandemic. Half of the record was mixed in Montreal by longtime Arcade Fire engineer Mark Lawson, while the other half was mixed by Brooklyn-based producer Shiftee, who incidentally is bandmate Julie Shore's husband and Will's brother-in-law.