Arcade Fire : "WE"

 

The sixth album from the Canadian indie rockers finds them moving in a darker more introspective direction.  I can understand why the music press of today might be reluctant to embrace this album as this band who has been involved in activism in the past, is not taking a side here, but looking at the world through the harsh lens of its bleak future. The first song covers a great deal of ground to end up grooving like it does. There is a more Bon Iver like sound to the second song. Though it finds its own Dancey groove before it is all said and done, though the drone and dance at the same time.     I think if they go to the well a third time with this formula it will not be as effective. 

You can hear John Lennon's influence on "End of the Empire". Interestingly heralding the American empire's end. The second part of this song, which is a separate track, is not as inspired and wanders around on the secondhand smoke of the previous song. The first part of "Lightning" so a more folk turn, so much so that it reminds me of the new Ryan Adams. Granted Adams has headed in a more indie direction with his latest. I can also hear similarities between, the last Killers album along with the War on Drugs here. So it is not their most original moment , but it still works.  

"Unconditional" keeps the more folk tinged strum of guitars churning, The second part of this song is the best song on the album. It is more like a Bjorkish take on pop, with Peter Gaberiel even lending his voice to the song. They close the album with the title track. Things go even further in more of a Ryan Adams direction . It almost does not seem like the same band that released "Funeral" with that said I feel like this song is the only misstep that doesn't work. I will give this album an 8.5, as to give it a 9 might lead one to think it is more inspired than it is.    

 

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.

Arcade Fire : "Reflektor"

They are one of David Bowie's favorite new bands so that earns them a spot here. Off the bat "Funeral" is the only album I have given several spins by these guys, but I have respected what they have done in between, in just wasn't catching my ear.  On "Funeral" the influences seemed to have been worn on their sleeves, the Talking Heads, Television and the Pixies more prominently. A lot of the quirky jangly indie rock style guitar and nasal David Byrne like vocals back matured into a fuller sound both vocally and instrumental.

The influence of their admirer seems to have surfaced along of that of Roxy Music, as this album has the groove of Bowie' German disco days . This album is not a desperate in its hopefulness as "Funeral" there are some grooves that sound like they are left from "Billie Jean" . So this is a much dancier affair overall. There are some songs like "Here Comes the Night Time" that have some raw , rough edges to it but even that stays close to beat, not unlike some of the Cure's more commercial elements on say "Close to Me".
The choir of gang vocals that chime in seems to be one of the bands trademarks and this comes in in the second song.   The lyrics to songs like reggae swagger of  " Flash Bulb Eyes"  reflect on the bands time spent in the media spotlight.

The momentum they had built up to this point on the album climaxes on "Normal Person" which feels like a punk rock scruffy version of T-Rex to me.  Then the albums blows it load and has a hard time getting it back up and into a groove until "It's Never Over" . With the annoyingly peppy cheering section of "You Already Know, becoming a limp fast forward classic. "Joan of Arc" sounds like the Plastic Ono and it's followed by an even more Beatles heavy "Awful Sound" which reminds me of "Woman is the Nigger of the World"

They get their new disco groove back, and often that sort of thing reminds me of Goldfrapp. The bass line on this one is really rich. The keyboard sound on "Porno" sounds like it's from that dumb Paul McCartney X-mas song.  With their knack for writing vocal lines having to pick up the slack, for what just doesn't seem like them otherwise. "Afterlife" takes a similar electronic approach, but is more effective in it's execution. Even with the influences they paraded their arcade in on previous albums it seems like it was more of their own voice than falling somewhere in between "Emotional Rescue" and Depeche Mode.  Like the album closer "Super symmetry"  which wavers around on synth strings with out going anywhere.  

 I'll give this one a 7 and suspect that I might have preferred the new Of Montreal instead, but the front end of this album is very well done, it just falls apart at the end and loses its identity.