AMS album of the week: Reflektor

Despite it being over ten years since AF first burnt music onto a CD to hand out at a small local gig in their Montreal neighbourhood, they are still teenagers – full of fire, angst, beauty and surprising lyricism. They have been almost alone in crafting albums which have a lot to say without falling into the dreaded ‘concept album’ trap. Their first offering, Funeral, is a masterpiece of tension and strife between generations, Neon Bible is a biting criticism of modern day religion and The Suburbs is an exploration of the hopelessly grey areas that lie between the urban and rural extremes. But the crucial thing is they needn’t be, it’s the music and not the ideas that keep you hooked. They have developed a sound that can span genres and yet still be solidly AF, and never has this been more evident than on their fourth: REFLEKTOR. The first impressive thing about REFLEKTOR is that it lived up to its enormous hype. NME have called AF ‘the most important band of the decade’ and I feel a strong personal attachment to their music, they’re certainly my favourite active band. Despite this, for the past week my housemates have been slowly going mad as I have it blaring out of my room on perpetual repeat, so they have clearly delivered. The second is the sheer scope of the album’s music – funky synth pop, dub, straight out rock’n’roll and more traditional AF styles all woven together with that sound, and a very new, much more electronic and gripping bass section. The album opens with the only single, ‘REFLEKTOR’, a seven and bit minute long, infectious and subtle attack on online personas and digital relationships. Featuring a stuttering sax solo, beautiful harmonies and backing vocals by David Bowie (who threatened to steal the single, it was so good!) the album starts well and stays that way. Highlights include the entire album. Personal favourites however are ‘Flashbulb Eyes’, with its dubby vibes and terror that our obsession with documenting our lives through photographs has taken the spirit out of things, and ‘Normal Person’ which is basically a mocking rock ballad about normality and our endless search for it. It should be so awfully clichéd but instead it ends up being really, really good. REFLEKTOR is certainly the most danceable AF album to date, but doesn’t lose any of its soul – it’s more a natural evolution for a band not afraid to explore. If I was forced to find a criticism it would be the sad decrease of Régine Chassagne’s vocal contribution – she still provides powerful harmonies and compliments Win’s voice beautifully, but there’s no stand out vocal performance from her like Haiti or Sprawl II. Still it’s probably the best album of the year, go listen to it.