ARCADE FIRE - "Reflektor" Album Review

          

            Since its formation in the 2000s, Arcade Fire has been one of the critically-acclaimed indie rock bands in the music business. The group was first recognized in 2004 with the release of their debut album, Funeral, which was placed on 19 different Top-10 “Best albums of the 2000s” lists by various music critics.  Although Arcade Fire has been compared to U2, David Bowie, each album Arcade Fire has released is musically diverse, despite the lyrics portraying mostly emotional themes.  The music on Funeral is cheerful and celebratory, the music on Neon Bible has a darker sound, and the music on The Suburbs is what Win Butler, an Arcade Fire member, described as a “mix of Depeche Mode and Neil Young” (Darcy). The next two albums, Neon Bible and The Suburbs, won various awards, which includes the 2011 Grammy for Album of the Year award. However, on Tuesday, October 29^th, Arcade Fire released their fourth studio album Reflektor.  According to Win Butler, Reflektor was influenced by the 1959 film Black Orpheus, an adaption of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, and his “life-changing trips to Haiti and Jamaica” (Doyle). Butler told Rolling Stone, “I was learning from what I saw and applying it to my own life, lyrically. I’m not trying to tell other people’s stories. We’re just trying to allow an experience to change you” (Doyle).

 

I enjoyed Arcade Fire’s first three albums due to their creativity, style, and talent. I was looking forward to hearing the new album. When I first heard the lead single, “Reflektor”, which was released in September, it brought me back to albums such as the recent Random Access Memories by Daft Punk and the classic Aja by Steely Dan because all three had a disco groove. After listening to this track, I assumed that this album would have a large disco influence behind it, like Random Access Memories which was a smash-hit record this year. However, after listening to the full album, some songs did have a disco groove, but it had other influences as well. Win Butler, an Arcade Fire member, claimed the album also contains Haitian rara and Jamaican influences, which can be heard in songs such as “Here Comes the Night Time”.

However, when listening to the album, I admired the impressive drumbeats, bass lines, backing vocals, and synthesizer use performed on many of the tracks. The members that make up Arcade Fire are extremely talented and know how to compile a variety of influences into their own, creative work. Win Butler and Regime Chassagne (Butler’s wife and band partner) sing very well together on many tracks, but I believe they have the best chemistry on “It’s Never Over (Hey Orpheus)”. Next, the beat at the beginning of “Joan of Arc” reminded me of Billy Joel’s “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”, but then the song carried a U2 musical influence and used strong choruses to back up Win Butler’s lead vocals. My only complaints for the album are that the 11-minute final track goes on too long and wasn’t anything special, and the track “Normal Person” sounded too bloated with instruments. Also, I was disappointed that Regime Chassagne did not sing lead vocals on any of the tracks. Chassagne provided lead vocals on a few tracks, such as “In the Backseat”, and “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”, on the band’s previous albums.

Written by: John Dirscherl

Works cited:

Darcy, Patrick. "New Arcade Fire: 'Depeche Mode Meets Neil Young'" SPIN Magazine, 9 July 2010. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.

<http://www.spin.com/#articles/new-arcade-fire-depeche-mode-meets-neil-young/>

Dietz, Jason. "Best Albums of the Decade: A Roundup of Critic Lists." Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc., 15 Dec. 2009. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.metacritic.com/feature/best-albums-of-the-decade-a-roundup-of-critic-lists>

Doyle, Patrick. "Win Butler Reveals Secret Influences Behind Arcade Fire's 'Reflektor'" Music. Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/win-butler-reveals-secret-influences-behind-arcade-fires-reflektor-20131022>

Payne, Chris. "Arcade Fire, 'Reflektor': Track-By-Track Review." Billboard, 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/5770596/arcade-fire-reflektor-track-by-track-review>