Arcade Fire: REFLEKTOR

rcade Fire release their new album on October 28th. Reflektor was announced in a reply to a single fan on twitter, it’s been preceded with a viral campaign inspired by Haitian veve drawings (me neither) and a single credited to a fictional band called The Reflektors. The hipster darlings are doing nothing to alleviate accusations of pretensiousness. However, even as a massive fan, much of this has passed me by. I’m finding it really hard to get myself excited about the new album. Back in 2010, when The Suburbs was released, I remember having it pre-ordered from within hours of the release date being announced. I remember it arriving and me listening to nothing else for about 3 days. This time around, I’d forgotten it was even out until a couple of days ago. What went wrong? A few years on, it does certainly seem like my furious replays of The Suburbs were perhaps a little over the top. It was certainly a very good album. Highly rated by critics and fans alike, it saw Arcade Fire catapulted into the mega-big-time. They won the album of the year Grammy and headlined some of the biggest festivals in the world. Despite all this, and I don’t think this is just me, it just wasn’t quite there. Funeral will always be one of my all time favourite albums. There is not a song on there I haven’t been completely obsessed with at one point or another. The two that followed it were never going to live up to that. The darker, more intimate Neon Bible was a fascinating listen, if not a particularly easy one. The Suburbs was as easy to listen to as the catchier moments on the debut, but nowhere near as memorable, and definitely a few tracks too long. A wide variety of styles was met with a single happier tone that hasn’t ever managed to leave its mark on me. In hindsight, it seemed a bit like Arcade Fire by numbers, which whilst good, didn’t exactly blow me away. There is, of course, lots to be excited about with the record. Producing credits go to James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem fame (alongside regular producer Markus Dravs), which is most definitely an exciting switch up. There’s a heavy disco influence on first single, Reflektor, which is a brave new direction for Arcade Fire. It’s also an absolutely banging track. The rest of the songs released from the new album all have a bit of an 80s influence, although none of it sounds too samey. In fact, all of the new tracks sound superb. However, they all lack any orchestral elements. There’s no horns, no strings, no hurdy-gurdy. This isn’t Arcade Fire by numbers, this doesn’t even sound that much like Arcade Fire. The idea of mixing 80s pop with indie rock might be new ground for Arcade Fire, but it isn’t exactly new ground for modern music. In fact, it is the legacy of James Murphy. Funeral was one of the most important albums in recent years. There are countless bands who tried to imitate that sound, none of whom managed it. There are also countless bands who have tried to imitate LCD Soundsystem, and I’m a bit concerned that Arcade Fire are going to join them. Of course, to judge on just five songs (although seriously, who previews that much of an album before it’s released?) is a bit unfair, but those five songs are enough for me to worry. The fact it’s a double album, which are a bit wank more often than not, isn’t filling me with hope either, especially given how bloated The Suburbs was . I’m hoping that I’m wrong, and there’s every chance I am. Maybe this will be the album that finally shows LCD Soundsystem how it’s done or maybe the released songs aren’t indicative of the rest of the album. I suppose that’s the point of this though, a few maybes are all I have for this album. It’s not just that I’m not excited, I’m actually a bit scared. Reflektor will be released on 28th October. Pre-orders include first access for tickets to the band’s upcoming world tour.