Arcade Fire : "Everything Now"

When Kiss went into a disco phase it brought out a side of the band that churned out some of their best songs ever. This might not be the case with the new Arcade Fire. The title track feels like their take on "Disco Queen" mixed with the mid-80's solo work of Paul McCartney. I don't hear the soaring yearning I prefer coming from them, but people change and don't create from the same emotional state so I am trying to be open minded here.The disco continues on "Signs of Life" this time the Disco ball is shining brighter on this fact as the vocal are more rapped. In all fairness they have always been influenced by the Talking Heads so this song has that vibe coupled with maybe the verses of "Rapture". "Creature Comfort" is the first song that really grabs me and finds the band blending their new evolved sound with the band I used to like. This one has a strong groove and biting lyrics.

While quirky "Peter Pan" doesn't hold up in terms of hooky melodies and over song dynamics as the previous songs. "Chemistry" kinds grooves it's way out of the previous song. The there is the frantic almost punk like tone of "Infinite Content". There are some cools sounds at work here, but the pace is easy for them to get lost. Electric blue focuses on the female voice and a more disco programmed drum machine carrying the groove with vocals heavily effect and more of an ethereal gliding to how they fall over the music. . There is a more restrained groove that might bring to mind some of the Rolling Stones more disco moments. The mix on this album is weird and it can really be heard on this song as if there was ever a time to bring the bass up in the mix it would be on "Good God Damn". I think the disco groove to "Put Your Money on Me" works better as the vocals are more locked into the dynamic tension of the song.

Things mellow out more for "We Don't Deserve Love" . The mood here is more akin to what the War On Drugs does if you subtract the guitar solos and let the vocals wuss out a little more. The build gets more interesting and goes off into a more familiar soaring dynamic for them. The refrain of "Everything Now" takes the album out on a very tepid note. I'll round this album down to a 7.5 as there are some good songs, but it doesn't have much in the way of balls to it , and in their own right Arcade Fire once had the emotional depth to compensate for what they lack in terms of sonic heft. Here there feelings check in would have them at a little detached.