Butler, Will and Sister Squares - Will Butler and Sister Squares (Limited Blue Swirl Vinyl)

Will Butler and Sister Squares - Will Butler and Sister Squares (Limited Blue Swirl Vinyl)

Sara Dobbs and Jenny Shore used to work summer stock theater in St. Louis, Missouri. They’d do the hand jive with TV stars past and future; they’d get coldly corrected by the ancient, legendary choreographer Gemze de Lappe. Sara went on to Broadway, including a run as Anybodys in West Side Story. Jenny went on to choreograph in the independent dance scene of early 2000s Chicago.

Julie Shore is Jenny’s sister. She’s always made music—playing Chopin, writing songs, making bands with her friends. She’s had the archetypal Millennial journey of entering adulthood in the ’08 financial crisis and figuring out what stupid series of jobs you have to take to pay rent while keeping an artistic life alive.

Miles Francis grew up in New York City with Backstreet Boys posters covering their walls. An extraordinary drummer since youth, Miles thrives in collaboration— whether producing artists in their West Village studio, performing with artists like Angelique Kidjo, or powering protests with a big marching drum.

These four—Miles, Julie, Jenny, and Sara—are Sister Squares. What made them a musical unit was working with Grammy winner and Oscar nominee Will Butler. They’ve all just finished a new record together: Will Butler + Sister Squares.

The album projects widescreen emotional landscapes. Lead-off single “Long Grass” is like a Harry Styles song with 20 more years of life behind it. Standout track “Satur- day Night” has a beat, according to Miles, “with that robot-alien-dancing-at-a-haunt- ed-dive-bar feeling that we were going for.” The back half of the album is a dance- able, weird choral record with harmonies both beautiful and dissonant. Closing song “The Window” is the comedown after the party—Julie playing a Chopin Nocturne on a three-years-out-of-tune piano, slowed to half-speed on tape with Will singing over it in a voice exactly as tired as he was. It’s a record with a warm, humane soul.

Tracklisting:

1. Open
2. Stop Talking
3. Willows
4. Long Grass
5. Me n My Friends 6. Saturday Night
7. Car Crash
8. Sunlight
9. Arrow of Time
10. I Am Standing in a Room 11. Good Friday, 1613
12. Old Year
13. Hee Loop
14. The Window