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Aug 29, 2023 By Mark Redfern Photography by Alexa Viscius

Will Butler (formerly of Arcade Fire) is releasing a new self-titled album with Will Butler + Sister Squares on September 22 via Merge. Now they have shared the album’s latest single, “Stop Talking,” via a lyric video. Listen below, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates.

Butler had this to say about “Stop Talking” in a press release: “This is one of the ‘dream songs’ on the record. Emotion in dreams; dreams in reality; tired and confused. ‘Stop talking; there’s nothing to say;’ not sure if it functions as a dismissal ‘Stop!,’ or as a sign of love ‘You don’t have to say it; I already know;’ I think, like a lot of communication between people who love each other—a little of both? Like, this song is full of fear; someone expressing fear to their partner, and the partner being like, ‘There’s nothing to fear, and also, shut up, quit being crazy.’ That’s not exactly it, but there’s something of that here.”

When Will Butler + Sister Squares was announced, they shared the album’s first single, “Long Grass,” which was one of our Songs of the Week. They have also shared the album’s “Arrow of Time” and “Willows.”

Butler left Arcade Fire at the end of 2021 and had spent the preceding two years at home with his children. “I was waking up every morning and reading Emily Dickinson, until I had read every Emily Dickinson poem,” said Butler in a previous press release. “I was listening to Morrissey, to Shostakovich, to the Spotify top 50. I had unformed questions with inchoate answers.”

Sister Squares—who are Miles Francis, Julie Shore, Jenny Shore, and Sarah Dobbs—all came together through familial word of mouth. “I met Jenny—my wife!—in college, the year before I joined Arcade Fire. When I needed a band to tour Policy,” says Butler, referring to his 2015-released solo debut album, “I asked [Jenny’s sister] Julie to join because I trusted her musically. And I asked Sara, Jenny and Julie’s childhood friend, because I knew she was super talented.”

Butler initially had different intentions for his solo career and this album. “After Generations [Merge, 2020], I considered making a weird solo record. Me alone in the basement, etc., etc. Mostly I realized that what I wanted was the opposite,” he says.

He then turned to Sister Squares and asked Francis to produce the new album. “Will and I organically discovered our relationship as a production duo through making this album. We didn’t have to talk too much about things as they happened, because the music just flowed,” says Francus. “As a producer, working with Jenny, Julie, and Sara is the dream. They connect so innately. In one motion they can conjure a mood, or get at the root of a feeling.”

Read our 2015 interview with Butler on Policy.

Will Butler + Sister Squares Tour Dates:

Sat. Sept. 23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Zone One
Tue. Oct. 3 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
Wed. Oct. 4 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Fri. Oct. 6 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Sat. Oct. 7 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Sun. Oct. 8 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
Tue. Oct. 17 - Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts
Wed. Oct. 18 - Montreal, QC @ Bar le Ritz
Thu. Oct. 19 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Fri. Oct. 20 - Detroit, MI @ Loving Touch
Sat. Oct. 21 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
Sun. Oct. 22 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
Tue. Nov. 7 - Riga, LV @ Palladium
Fri. Nov. 10 - Berlin, DE @ Privatclub
Sun. Nov. 12 - Aarhus, DK @ VoxHall
Tue. Nov. 14 - Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown
Wed. Nov. 15 - Paris, FR @ Café de la Danse
Thu. Nov. 16 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique
Fri. Nov. 17 - London, UK @ ICA
Sat. Nov. 18 - Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s
Thu. Nov. 30 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
Fri. Dec. 1 - Washington, DC @ DC9
Sat. Dec. 2 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall

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