[CD Review] ARCADE FIRE – Reflektor

Arcade Fire-2

Heading in for my first taste of the magnanimously anticipated fourth album release from genre-defying Canadian band, Arcade Fire… I find myself standing outside my comfort zone, meandering in foreign land of transcendental sounds, elements and concepts. Coming from much more experimental background in comparison to 2010’s, The Suburbs, a wider spectrum of synthetic instrumentation shines through Arcade Fire’s genre-resisting sound.

Kicking off with title track and lead single ‘Reflektor”, a track that had tongues waging long before its release, after it was revealed that David Bowie would make an appearance… Bound by its visceral grooves and infectious beat, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne’s harmonic vocals interplay like a dream. Packed to the rim with multiple layers of gnarled riffs, strings, keys, saxophone and the odd David Bowie appearance; 
There is quite a lot to take in, but miraculously thanks to James Murphy’s high quality production of the album, it comes together surprisingly well.

By ‘Normal Person’ I feel a bit more at ease and within my element, enjoying the return of Arcade Fire’s rock foundations as Win Butler begs the question “Do you like rock and roll music? Cos I don’t know if I do…” a bit of a contradiction given the tracks vibe but the sense of urgency in his voice tells me that his well aware of such. The build up for this song is intense, brimming with distortion and liquefying riff before reaching its concluding climax as Butler repetitively chimes “I’ve never really met a normal person”.

Easing into the moody ‘Here Comes The Night II’ we find ourselves at the second half of the album… with the focal point of this particular track being the dream-state orchestral array, darkened and somber in comparison to the first half. But by ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Porno’ the eclectic concoction of peculiar sounds make their habitual return, as effervescent synth and heavy bass lines frolic behind harmonies… I find myself out of my comfort zone once again.

As I previously mentioned, Reflektor as a whole is undeniably well produced but with so much constantly going on, a sliver of repetition comes into the works and I don’t find myself engaging to tracks as much I would have liked to… In saying that I admire Arcade Fire’s bold shift of recreating their sound, there’s a lot of bravery in that, and I don’t doubt the manoeuvre will assemble a whole new batch of Arcade Fire fans across the globe. But in comparison to The Suburbs I personally cannot say I prefer.

7/10
Reviewer: Chloe Webb

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