Arcade Fire Desires a Real Connection with “WE” — Album Review
The rock band’s return to form plays with our fear of isolation, and then our joy for acceptance.
We all know the special flare that Arcade Fire brings in our metaphorical tables.
The indie rock band from Montreal, known for their complex lyrical themes and their huge musical ensemble in concerts have been doing exceptionally well since the early 2000s.
Their debut record, Funeral (2004), see many of the band members coping with the loss of family members, along with losing their innocence.
Neon Bible (2007) criticizes celebrity culture and the rise of the consumerist style of religion. The Suburbs (2010) sees the band question their own nostalgia and youth through the suburbs they grew up in. Reflektor (2013) continues with abstract themes of consumerism and a recurring Greek Orpheus and Eurydice love story.
Everything Now (2017) relishes on Reflektor’s themes of consumerism and the omnipresence of the internet and media, and although it sounded very dynamic and accessible, it tackles these themes albeit a bit condescendingly.
It’s my pleasure to inform you that their 5-year followup, WE, continues where they left off and still thrive in the process.
Though that’s already a given, keep reading anyway.
WE plays along where their last two records left off, as in it starts tackling social media-induced anxiety in the opener, but as it goes on, it opens new chapters on isolation and the inevitable desire for togetherness.
The album cover was photographed by artist JR and later airbrushed by Terry Pastor, the sheer simplicity and complexity of the eye symbolizes the rabbit hole, and the black hole Sagittarius A, a recurring theme in the album.
The album’s title was inspired by Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin’s 1921 novel of the same name, the album in itself is split between “I” on the first half and “We” on the second.
There are many moments like End of the Empire II, Lightning I, and the title track where they feel comforting in a way, similar to the elegancy of the song Crown of Love from Funeral.
The record is helmed by producer Nigel Godrich of Radiohead fame. Considering the similarity of the two groups in some way, he’s pretty integral for the band’s return to form.
Their sound on this record crosses between their classic baroque rock and their upfront electronica experimentation.
With hints of the former scattered on songs like End of The Empire and The Lightning, but their latter is spread out as well, like on Age of Anxiety and Unconditional II (Race and Religion).
When it comes to length, it’s a pretty straightforward listen at only 40 minutes.
Its style of immediacy draws a comparison to Everything Now, minus the album’s polarizing nature.
But this is where the record’s strengths stop for me.
Despite it’s consistent sound, this feels like the band’s most distracted record. It’s not cohesive in the way it shifts moods and subject matter.
You see, the band tackles different topics on this record; from consumerism, the façade of the American Dream, apathy, despair, a burst of hope, and youth, but they never stuck with each other well.
The band didn’t shy away from a wide arrange of topics though, from homosexuality on We Exist from Reflektor, Haitian unrest on Haiti from Funeral, among other topics.
And the episodic nature of the tracks here didn’t help its divided field of narrative. Its greatness only relegated to small pockets rather than the album as a whole.
Of course, with its lack of a proper direction meant that the individual tracks went on their own paths and moments of greatness.
Age of Anxiety I is a ballad about modern technology and perception and how it makes us anxious, the song reflects this uneasiness with the band’s breathing in various moments. The piano intro reminds me of Citizens of all people.
Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole) continues where Part 1 left off but it turns into an elusive pop fever dream, inspired by both the aforementioned hole from Alice in Wonderland, and modern internet culture.
We see frontman Win Butler question the American Dream in the End of the Empire quadrilogy, possibly inspired after witnessing Haitians be denied entry in the US border.
The series of tracks are fine, but it’s where Part IV (Sagittarius A*) where we see the narrative in action, in the perspective of unsubscribing to it all. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.
Sagittarius A*, named after the black hole in the Milky Way Galaxy, is supposed to symbolize the end but also a new and more hopeful beginning, which goes into The Lightning I and II.
The main message of The Lightning duology is hope, but it’s not completely linear, it’s like a burst of desire for hope motivated by despair.
The band’s sense of embrace through the lines : “We can make it if you don’t quit on me. I won’t quit on you, Don’t quit on me.”
And then it goes to the hyperactive The Lightning II being the album’s Wake Up in a way. The sudden strike of desire for something, like lightning, brings an energetic climax which is the album’s finest.
At first I didn’t like Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)’s oversimplicity, I first thought it was uncharacteristically shallow.
But finding out this was to Wil and Regine’s son, I only saw how special it really was, feeling like they’re passing down everything they’ve cherished, the nostalgia and youth they’ve portrayed over the years, to him.
“I give you everything that’s mine
I give you my heart and my precious time”
Plus on the SNL performance, Win Butler thanking his mom in the end felt like the cherry on top.
Now onto Unconditional II (Race and Religion), how is this a Part 2? Maybe because they’re both about attachment and love? Nonetheless, it’s frontwoman Régine Chassagne’s time to shine, and it’s a pretty modern bop.
Hold on, Peter Gabriel is on here?
And lastly, the sentimental flavor of the title track, closer WE reminds me of The Suburbs, especially the way it closes:
“When everything ends, can we do it again?”
This is an extended version of my album review on my Instagram: The Left Ear with Lee. Be sure to follow me on Medium and on Instagram. Thanks!
