Arcade Fire. Formal wear or costumes only please.

[lazarus]

Not really because it wasn't the first time he put out a subpar album. And not as big of a deal when you've already put out 20 over a 30 year period.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Arcade Fire has been my favourite band over the last 10 years. I've seen them 11 times and each of those concerts rank right up there with some of the best I've ever seen. But the reviews have scared me off from buying this album. I'm not paying for it until I know at least somewhat decent, and I don't have a Spotify or Apple Music account.

Part of it is fear that I'll dislike it so much it'll sour me on the band. It's already difficult being a fan of a band that includes Win Butler, who is as obnoxious as they come. I've been loyal until this current album cycle, where the marketing and the singles I've heard have totally lost me.

Wow.

 

[cobl04]

I don't know if my opinion means anything to you or not, nor should it really, but this is not an album that is going to destroy your faith in the band or anything like that. The worst parts are over quickly, some of them in under two minutes, and those parts are surrounded by some solid tracks. Almost like it should have been an EP.

It might. Even me, who has never been an Arcade Fire fanboy, thinks the dropoff from their previous work is scarily large.

I feel like I've said this a thousand times and no one ever responds to it, but this band has been preachy as hell for as long as they have existed. No one remarks upon it at all on The Suburbs for whatever reason, but it's nearly insufferable in places there. This is a really strange time to all of sudden be pissed about their lyrical content.

As long as the music is good, it doesn't matter. Hence why I've always been a Coldplay fan. You can count on one hand the amount of good lyrics Chris Martin has written, but for the majority of their career it didn't really matter because the strength of the band's belief in the music got them through.

Arcade Fire's worst lyrical efforts don't phase me because the music was always good. It's not the case on this new record.

 

[corianderstem]

Second listen, it's really not that bad. (Remember, I don't care as much about lyrics.)

The only songs I dislike (and I'm not counting the intro and outro and two infinite content blurbs, all four of which are just wasted space I didn't even put on my iPod) are Peter Pan and Chemistry.

I've even come around a bit on Electric Blue, although my tolerance for Regine has pretty low limits.

The last two songs are excellent.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

As far as big lead off singles go, EN is much better than Reflektor. Much more polished & clean. Very Euro and rightly so, considering the production team. Will most likely end up being their biggest single ever.
Creature Comfort reminds me of early New Order and how prominent the bass stands out. Love it quite a bit. Even the lyrics don't bother me.
For me, the disappointment lies in that it takes until Electric Blue to settle into a place where I'm no longer wanting to skip tracks. There is a great run right there (9-13) and I think it's enough to please the old school AF fans to check this album out.
At best, this album looks to be in a dogfight for 4th, but this doesn't mean that's it's a bad album at all. I play all my AF albums fairly often.

 

[corianderstem]

I love Reflektor the song more than anything on that album or this one.

 

[LemonMelon]

Arcade Fire really, really wants to write a dance song as good as Reflektor but it just isn't in them right now. Seems like they made several attempts to recapture it on this album.

 

[corianderstem]

I would agree with that.

 

[Joey788]

If anyone's interested, my full review is here:

http://www.noripcord.com/reviews/music/arcade-fire/everything-now

I was caught between whether to give it a 5 or 6 out of 10, but those last two songs, the title track and Electric Blue are strong enough to earn the higher score.

 

[Joey788]

Also, just keep digging that hole Arcade Fire

https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/07/arcade-fire-are-selling-110-fidget-spinners/

 

[david]

Haha

 

[lazarus]

Wow.

 

[mikal]

I just ordered 5!

 

[LemonMelon]

Arcade Fire to cameo in straight-to-video Emoji Movie sequel

 

[cobl04]

If anyone's interested, my full review is here:

Arcade Fire: Everything Now - Music Review - No Ripcord

I was caught between whether to give it a 5 or 6 out of 10, but those last two songs, the title track and Electric Blue are strong enough to earn the higher score.

Nice man - pretty much sums up exactly how I feel. Still think you are being far too kind though. It's a 5 maximum.

 

[Imperor]

Has any band ever shown this much contempt for its audience? I don't doubt there are plenty of shithead Arcade Fire fans with methodically curated Tumblrs who write erotic fanfic about Win and Regine, but for fuck's sake, leave the rest of us out it.

 

[namkcuR]

So I listened to the album today, and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I mean, it's not great, and I still don't really dig this 'dance' direction the band is trying to go, but the album has a few tracks that aren't bad - the title track is pleasant enough, and the final two tracks are good - Put Your Money On Me might be my favorite.

On the whole, I might actually prefer this to Reflektor, just because it's not as bloated as Refleketor(it's nearly 40 minutes shorter!).

So on first listen I don't hate it. It's alright. But it doesn't hold a candle, imo, to the first three records.

 

[namkcuR]

My ranking as of now:

1. Neon Bible
2. Funeral
3. The Suburbs
4. Everything Now
5. Reflektor

Kind of an almost-chronological order.

A word of praise for Neon Bible. I know most people say Funeral is #1, and it's great, but for me, Neon Bible edges it out. It's just a little more direct, the production a little more lush. And that closing one-two punch of No Cars Go/My Body Is A Cage is their pinnacle for me. So epic and so, so fucking good.

No Cars Go is perhaps their most hummable melody that isn't called Wake Up, and it's executed, instrumentally, with such warmth. And that 'between the click of the light and the start of the dream' bridge kicks my ass. Just a gorgeous, huge, iconic track. One of their true classics.

My Body Is A Cage is the greatest thing they've ever done. AF generally isn't a band where I pay a lot of attention the lyrics, they're all about the music for me, but the lyric on this song has always spoken to me. The song starts out quietly epic with Win singing the refrain over minimal instrumentation, and the song builds in intensity and scale throughout. When the organ kicks into full gear for the last couple minutes and Win is wailing 'Set my spirit free, oh, oh, oh' over it? Damn near a religious experience. If I could only keep one AF song, that would be it.

Intervention is another great song, Black Mirror, Black Wave/Bad Vibrations, Ocean Of Noise, and Windowsill are other highlights, and the title track is a nice interlude as well. But that closing duo. Man.

 

[corianderstem]

Neon Bible and Funeral are about neck-and-neck for me.

 

[cobl04]

How the fk can you rate this shitheap of a new album above Reflektor is beyond me.

 

[LemonMelon]

I would rather have a Reflektor/It's Never Over single than the entirety of Everything Now.

 

[cobl04]

Yep [emoji1360]

 

[trevgreg]

And Trevgreg is still awaiting the ticket dedemption CD...

It shipped Friday, but I won't be getting it until later today or tomorrow!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Had a listen. Bar two or three tracks, it's an utter waste of an album unfortunately. I really, really enjoyed Reflektor for what it's worth but prior albums had done very little for me.

 

[trevgreg]

Well, I got the CD... first thoughts after a full listen is that it isn't the worst thing I've ever heard, but a lot of it is fairly average (especially considering their two prior albums).

I didn't mind the first four tracks released (in particular Signs of Life and Electric Blue), but the only other one that stands out to me so far is Put Your Money on Me.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I'm doing fairly well with this. Chemistry and two Infinite Craps are the bumps in the road. I've made up my mind now that I'll never play those 3 ever again. Peter Pan has grown a bit on me and now with Beats1 interview, I can appreciate that track a little more.

The 5 standouts that are worthy of not making this album a disaster are Electric Blue, Everything Now, Put Your Money On Me, Creature Comfort, and the mesmerizing We Don't Deserve Love.

 

[david]

The only other band that I listen to that had this drop in quality between albums is The Flaming Lips.

 

[joyfulgirl]

My copy just arrived and I am not excited about listening to it.

 

[BoMac]

http://exclaim.ca/music/article/ric...page&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fbpwall

 

[cobl04]

Just heard Good God Damn on the radio. Fuck me that is a bad song.

The only other band that I listen to that had this drop in quality between albums is The Flaming Lips.

On what albums?