Essentials: Arcade Fire
Today, Friday 28 June, Arcade Fire have released their fifth full-length studio album, ‘Everything Now’.
Let’s be honest, fan reception to this latest release has been anything but warming. Its four singles in its lead up to release have been hit-and-miss (not in my eyes, though) with “fans” complaining Arcade Fire should, “go back to their old sound,” and, “this doesn’t sound like ‘The Suburbs’,” or, “indie rock cried a little today.” Take this revolutionary Canadian band for what they are and what they have done for the current musical landscape. No longer are they bound by folk-indie-rock roots, thanks to a long sought after collaboration with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy on previous album, ‘Reflektor’, Arcade Fire find the beauty in disco music.
On ‘Everything Now’, Arcade Fire tow the line even closer to disco, dance and rock. It’s an ambitious playbook but, hell, if any band in the world can do it, let it be Arcade Fire. Singles Signs of Life and Creature Comfort sees the band’s frontman take his role even deeper with some thought provoking lyrics, which have divided fans; while lead single and the album’s title track portrays a healthy dose of the “classic” Arcade Fire sound with the “new”.
In lieu of this heated debate, an album release day for this seminal band is still a grand day. To celebrate ‘Everything Now’, we’ve collated a collective playlist of Arcade Fire’s back catalogue to emphasis just why this band is so masterful and how they got to where they are now.
