Arcade Fire, a.k.a. The Reflektors.

[gump]

The lyrics in the final stanza in Here Comes the Night Time must be a homage to 21st century Bono. "When you look in the sky, just try looking inside. God knows what you mind find".

 

[BoMac]

Ha, that exact thought crossed my mind the other day.

 

[gump]

And I see that Supersymmetry is the new Less Than You Think.

 

[Zooropa man]

Isn't this the same guy who started the Daft Punk thread in EYKIW a while ago?

My bad... should I run everything through you next time? I was sharing, if you don't like it, don't comment. It might not have been the right place to post it but then again, a lot in here post gibberish. It could really be a constructive talking point being that we are waiting for a new U2 album. (how they need to step it up being that others have been etc. etc.)

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I can't describe Normal Person as anything other than being pretty great.

 

[LemonMelon]

And I see that Supersymmetry is the new Less Than You Think.

The ending of Supersymmetry is far more palatable than Less Than You Think's. The point of the latter is to be irritating, so yeah.

And I would say Supersymmetry is the better song overall, though I would probably appreciate Less Than You Think far more today if it just ended after 2 minutes.

 

[bazza]

here comes the night is so dam cool!! this is the best album for a while

 

[gump]

The ending of Supersymmetry is far more palatable than Less Than You Think's. The point of the latter is to be irritating, so yeah. And I would say Supersymmetry is the better song overall, though I would probably appreciate Less Than You Think far more today if it just ended after 2 minutes.

Yeah, I think Less Thank You Think without the drones is a good song. There are good live versions of it. As the last song in the album, Supersymmetry has the advantage of allowing you to just tune out, whereas you have to endure the final 10 minutes of Less Than You Think to get to Late Greats.

 

[coach]

Anyone else think Porno could easily have been a "Pop" track? It's got a Velvet Dress - Palyboy Mansion feel to it.

 

[Lancemc]

Oh hai this is out huh? For somebody who doesn't want to backread however many pages what's the general reaction to this so far?

 

[coach]

One track that has gotten better for me is Porno. Really liking that one now, which means disc 2 is thoroughly dominating disc 1 at this point. I pretty much lose interest in the latter after Here Comes the Night Time.

Agree

 

[PhilsFan]

Oh hai this is out huh? For somebody who doesn't want to backread however many pages what's the general reaction to this so far?

It's an art project.

 

[BoMac]

You're internalizing, Dan.

 

[phanan]

Great album, but it didn't need to be a double. Getting rid of the hidden material and Flashbulb Eyes would have it only five minutes longer than The Suburbs, and about the same if you discarded You Already Know as well (although I enjoy that one myself).

 

[BoMac]

I downloaded the album, so there's no hidden song there. Flashbulb Eyes is the only song I skip on every listen, and I end the album before Supersymmetry gets all weird. So it's a near perfect experience for me.

 

[phanan]

I had each disc separate when I first listened, and then put them together and listened the same way you have it, and it was much better. The only thing that would improve it would be to segue Joan Of Arc into Here Comes The Night Time Part II. I'll have to work on that.

 

[iron yuppie]

I downloaded the album, so there's no hidden song there. Flashbulb Eyes is the only song I skip on every listen, and I end the album before Supersymmetry gets all weird. So it's a near perfect experience for me.

Flashbulb Eyes is a highlight for me, though I'll probably be in the minority there. You Already Know and Joan of Arc (especially that hackneyed backing chorus) could be jettisoned and my experience with the album would not be hurt.

 

[djerdap]

The final three tracks are easily the best for me. Great use of strings on Supersymmetry. Too bad it's such a bloated, overblown record in general though.

 

[gump]

I've only listened to it two times so far, so it's early to make a definitive statement (unless you work for Consequence of Sound, I guess). I like some of it, although certainly not all of it, and lyrically it did not impress me at all. It's a good record, but I doubt it will make my top-5 for 2013.

 

[Imperor]

Oh good, I'm not the only one who finds "Flashbulb Eyes" wholly unnecessary.

 

[PhilsFan]

Buying this today. Be on alert, because some hot takes will likely follow.

 

[gvox]

Flashbulb Eyes is a highlight for me, though I'll probably be in the minority there. You Already Know and Joan of Arc (especially that hackneyed backing chorus) could be jettisoned and my experience with the album would not be hurt.

We think alike on this at least. Flashbulb Eyes is a keeper imo. Joan of Arc is ridiculous and I could lose it also.

Porno just keeps getting better and better.

 

[lazarus]

Buying this today. Be on alert, because some hot takes will likely follow.

Sweet, I haven't eaten breakfast yet and I'm really hun--

Oh. Damn.

 

[BoMac]

Porno just keeps getting better and better.

That's always been my experience.

Oh, wait...

 

[mikal]

As someone that did not care for Neon Bible and just liked The Suburbs, I must say that I feel completely different about this album. I would not drop one song. Other than Funeral, this is the only album by this band where I like every song on the album. I guess 2 out of 4 isn't bad.

 

[gvox]

That's always been my experience.

Oh, wait...

I originally typed "..the jury's still out on porn, however" and then deleted as it just didn't seem as funny anymore.

Thanks for clearing that up, though

 

[Jive Turkey]

Listened through a couple times. I like it. Love some of it. Still think We Exist is amazing. But a couple songs are too blatant in their Caribbean influences. Here Comes the Nighttime, for example. Songs like that never transcend their influence. It will always be "the Caribbean sounding song". It's almost gimmicky. But mark me down for liking Flashbulb Eyes. Reminds me of Gorillaz in a way.
I'll need more listens to form a proper opinion on this.

 

[gvox]

That's funny. I really think Flashbulb Eyes is the track that's the most blatantly reggae influenced, but that's probably perception as I'm into that music. I'm far far less into the rest of the Caribbean's music (ie calypso, Haitian, etc)..so while I recognize the influence for sure in Here Comes The Night, it's less gimmicky or tired for me...and it shifts around a bit. If that makes any sense

 

[Jive Turkey]

I don't disagree with what you said about Flashbulb Eyes; that's why I included a 'but' in front, as it kinda contradicted what I said previous. I guess I just feels it's a better song than Here Comes the Nighttime, so in that sense, I can get over the fact that it is heavily reggae influenced song. I wouldn't want the whole album sounding that way though.

 

[nielsgov]

The repetitiveness of the lyric in Flashbulb Eyes bugs me. And why does he sing do instead of does? I don't skip the track however, as it's short and fun musically. The only song I haven't gotten into is Here Comes the Night Time. The acceleration at the end sounds off. It's too fast or something.

I also agree with everyone saying disc 2 is better than disc 1. It's more consistent and it has more highs. The stretch Awful Sound -> Supersymmetry - last 6 minutes is near perfect. It's Never Over is quickly becoming one of my favorite Arcade Fire songs.