Arcade Fire

[well fan for life]

This is going to be album of the year and I cannot wait to hear it all.

They were fucking spectacular at Primavera. 

[Savage Henry]

On 14/07/2017 at 23:11, mrcat1990 said:

 

Superfan number wan. To be honest I wished I shared your enthusiasm for the new stuff. It only takes one bad album to taint a band for me and this stuff is doing it to me. Hearing zero shoegaze about "Electric Blue" also.

 

I'm hearing flat out bad music.  I quite like bits of Arcade Fire, but that song's just bad.

[Ira Gaines]

They're playing the Hydro next April. Tickets on sale a week tomorrow.

[SweeperDee]

2 hours ago, Randy Giles said:

They're playing the Hydro next April. Tickets on sale a week tomorrow.

All over that and the Manchester dates. Cannot wait. They will probably do 2 Manchester dates as well. 

[SweeperDee]

Album has leaked. 

Strong start, stable middle...

The last 4 songs are probably up there with their best songs.

"We Don't Deserve Love" is actually tremendous. 

[SweeperDee]

So, I've been fortunate enough to be able to listen to the album a full week before release through a leak.

It was a vinyl rip so some of the  "loop" that's meant to be on the album is lost due to the ripping process, but I won't let that influence the overall score too much. The transisitons from song to song work well, and I'm sure they will sound better on the proper release. 

1. "Everything_Now (Continued)" - The first sound you hear on the music video for the main single "Everything Now", it's a nice synthy intro which melts seamlessly into the title track. It also acts as the first part of the "loop".  Only 46 seconds long, so it's nothing really spectacular - 6/10.

2. "Everything Now" - The title track, the song which embodies the album concept. "Every song that I've ever heard, is playing at the same time, it's absurd", Win Butler laments, as he describes the instantaneous nature in which everything is available, immediately; surely taken for granted. There's an inescapable comparison to ABBA here, with a prominent piano melody at the forefront of this modern-disco banger. It's an upbeat tune, but the lyrics definitely set scene for what Arcade Fire think of the current state of affairs just now; a complete shit show - 8/10.

3. "Signs of Life" - Probably AF's most prominent tribute to Talking Heads, whether it's that lively drum rhythm, or Win Butler's attempt at David Byrne-esque singing. "Still Looking for signs of life", while finding absolutely no signs of life. Repeatitive lyrics let this tune down though, as they aren't interesting enough to be repeated. A good idea executed poorly, and the saxophone isn't enough to save this song - 5/10.

4. "Creature Comfort" - The first song of the album which harks back to old-school AF. A nice build up of synth, guitars, and lyrics which are all too painfully relatable these days. "Some boys hate themselves, spending their lives resenting their fathers, some girls hate their body's, stand in the mirror and wait for the feedback"; pretty self explanatory really, the youth of today have problems which although are not exclusive to their generation, they face these problems more than anyone else in a perfect storm of prominent social media, and stubborn attitudes to what is perceived different. There's some pretty on-the-nose lyrics about suicide in this song as well, which I feel add weight to the already bleak lyrics juxtaposed against a contagiously dancey tune - 8/10.

5. "Peter Pan" - Eeeeesh...after a good few listens, "Peter Pan" just doesn't hold up for me. It has an interesting drum beat, with some weirdly placed horn and piano instrumentation in the background coasting along with Win. I think this is a case of a band experimenting, which is all fair and well, but not in an album which is a clear experimentation (or furthering) of their want to make disco-dance music. Should have probably made this a B-side - 3/10.

6. "Chemistry" - Woah. I'd say this song is the most swagger-filled tune they've released. Lyrics aren't up to much in regards to complexity, but they do a good job in sticking 2 fingers up to the modern world and pursuing a love interest in spite of all that threatens relationships these days. A classic rock hook, reinforced with what I would say is the most impressive drum work in their entire discography. What I will say is that - barring the next song - this is the turning point in the album for me, where AF truly find their groove and produce some of their best music, ever - 8/10.

7. "Infinite Content" - An absolute uninteresting wall of noise, reminiscent of (but way worse than) "Month of May" from the Suburbs album. I don't know if it's the quality of the rip but it just sounds poorly mixed, and the rattling, almost static-like guitars combined with "Infinite Content" being repeated umpteen times doesn't consitute a good song for me - 2/10.

8. "Infinite_Content" - Ah...this is much better. AF try their hand at making a country song, and it actually works. Lyrically, it's the exact same as its poor predecessor, but Win is a lot gentler, smoother, and a lot more pleasant on the ear. I think the prominence of strings in this song give you a warm nostalgic kickback to their earlier work - 7/10.

9. "Electric Blue" - Regine's single, and she does own it. I'll preface this and say it's not on the same level as "In the backseat", or "Sprawl ii" (Which I believe is their best song, ever, tied with Tunnels). However, this is not to say Regine doesn't do well here. I'd say the mixing of this track doesn't help Regine's voice, it's probably an octave too high, but it's still good to listen to. I'd say this is a companion to "Chemistry", natural love in an unnatural world from the woman's point of view. It has a catchy guitar riff, and the synth groove running through the spine of the song make it the sort of song you can cry to, and dance to, at the same time - 8/10.

10. "Good God Damn" - The beginning of a perfect end stretch. The bass, the smooth vocals, the interjecting guitar plucks, the clear references to "Creature Comfort" in regards to suicide; it's something that AF are very good at, making songs "bounce off each other", and improving companion pieces as a result of these references. There's not much that can be said about this other than it's near perfection. "Could there be a good god? Damn." - 9/10. 

11. "Put Your Money On Me" - Win's own "f**k you" to mormonism ("My Mother was crying on the day of our wedding"), and the b*****dised version of religion in general that exists today. A deeply personal song, where I believe Win is singing about his relationship with Regine, and he's imploring her to "Put Your Money On Me". I'd say this is Win holding up his relationship with Regine as an example of a relationship flourishing under testing times. Instrumentals are outstanding here, with more nods to ABBA, and I'd say that it wouldn't feel out of place on the Reflektor album - 9/10.

12. "We Don't Deserve Love" - Well, the penultimate track...we all know what that means; in true AF fashion, it's the best song on the album, and I'd say up there with the best in their entire catalog. There's simply nothing to fault on this track. The floating synths, the pained lyrics, the absolute perfect synthesis of every instrument on the track. What stands out is the fact that this tune combines all of the unique aspects of preceding albums and turns it into something not only fiendishly workable and robust, but fiendishly beautiful - 10/10. 

13. "Everything Now (Continued)" - The closing track, and the end piece of the loop which links us to the opening track. A bit more fleshed out lyrically, with added strings. They've used this to open their shows on tour, and I see why. It sets the mood well; it's a very good track to end (or start?) the album - 8/10.

Overall - 91/130, 70%, Solid B+. 

I'd say this album suffers with 2 or 3 tunes which really needed replaced or worked on. But, on the whole, this album works pretty well; Win Butler stated that every album AF has made shouldn't be compared to one and other, they stand alone, each representing their own message. I'd say their overall concept hasn't been communicated that well, but it's there, you may need a few listens to fully appreciate it though. What Arcade Fire have shown though, is that they are showing no signs of running out of steam. 

[tigerton]

Looking forward to getting stuck into this at the weekend when it arrives on my doorstep. Thanks for the preview@sweeperdee

[Internet Citizen]

I pre-ordered the coloured vinyl edition last month so I'm looking forward to the weekend to finally listen to it. Enjoyed most of what I've heard so far.

 

Every album is different to the last but it always sounds like Arcade Fire. This album does seem a totally different step though.

 

Got my presale code through so I'm buying tickets for the hydro. £8.45 booking fee! Mental.

 

[SweeperDee]

I pre-ordered the coloured vinyl edition last month so I'm looking forward to the weekend to finally listen to it. Enjoyed most of what I've heard so far.
 
Every album is different to the last but it always sounds like Arcade Fire. This album does seem a totally different step though.
 
Got my presale code through so I'm buying tickets for the hydro. £8.45 booking fee! Mental.
 

I couldn't get any tickets whatsoever, almost instantly sold out for me. Will have to try get some on general sale or just pay extortionate amounts on GetMeIn like I had to do last time.

[Internet Citizen]

I couldn't get any tickets whatsoever, almost instantly sold out for me. Will have to try get some on general sale or just pay extortionate amounts on GetMeIn like I had to do last time.

Yeah, after checking it's only seating I could get, so I'm going to hold off and try on Friday. I've no intention of sitting at a gig like that.

[SweeperDee]

Took the plunge. Got tickets for the gig at the Hydro, albeit sitting ones. Don't really care, I get to see them again. 

[Harry Kinnear]

I'm the same. I would have preferred standing but didn't want to take the risk and end up not getting any.

 

 

[GrahamJags]

Ticket prices for this are crazy. After spending £50 to see them earlier this year in Edinburgh, I definitely can't justify another £65 for this, regardless of how good the album might be.

[SweeperDee]

Ticket prices for this are crazy. After spending £50 to see them earlier this year in Edinburgh, I definitely can't justify another £65 for this, regardless of how good the album might be.

I spent £140 for their Manchester Castlefield gig. That was excluding the £95 for the hotel right beside the venue.

[spud131]

Got my tickets in the sse rewards presale. Looking forward to it!

[Ira Gaines]

Tickets bought!

[underdogunderdog underdog]

Listening to the new album just now.

[Ira Gaines]

Easily their worst IMO.

[gc_smfc]

Managed to get standing tickets on amazon tickets, after ticket master was just showing errors any time I tried after 0900.

[SweeperDee]

Pitchfork absolutely butchered the album. [emoji23] 5.6/10!