As great as the Internet is (I mean, how else would you be reading this, right?), it’s also a ruthless killer. It’s taken down book stores, civil discourse, privacy, porn magazines. And stadium rock. When I was a kid, it wasn’t unusual to see middling bands play in front of tens of thousands. I saw Foreigner play for 60,000 people.
Foreigner? Yes, Foreigner (I was 12, lay off).
But today, finding an honest-to-God working rock band to lure the masses is no easy feat. Sure the musicians of lore (Springsteen, The Who, U2) still packs them in, but unless you’re a country act (or at a festival), your band is destined for the amphitheater, at best.
Which brings me to Arcade Fire, a band with a decade of work that, according to everyone, has never done anything wrong. It creates masterful albums swooned over by critics and the public alike – it’s an indie band gone mainstream but still sorta indie who all can claim because it makes them look cool. Its last album, The Suburbs, sold millions of records and was Grammy’s album of the year. Robert Christgau loved it, and that guy hates everything. In Suburbs wake, Arcade Fire headlined festivals and filled arenas. What does a band do after that?
There were two ways Arcade Fire could go following Suburbs – it could continue doing what it’s done so well (and probably grow bored), or it could redefine itself and make a shift only legendary bands pull off (but risk losing its fan base). In typical Arcade Fire fashion it chose both, but committed to neither, to adequate results. Reflektor, a double album and the Montreal band’s fourth release, sees the band hit the dance floor, dabble with Caribbean beats, yet stay true to its progressive roots.
Lead vocalist Win Butler said the band sought a short record this time around, but at 75 minutes, Reflektor belies his initial wishes. And while it’s grandiose, perhaps slightly indulgent, there’s not a poor song in the bunch.
The band employed LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy to produce some tracks, and his influence is apparent from the start. Opener “Reflektor” is, of all things, a disco song featuring Butler and co-singer/wife Regine Chassagne (channeling her inner Donna Summer) cooing through more than seven minutes of funky beats and retro synths. The dance floor remains open for “We Exist” which despite its poppy exterior features anguished lyrics: “Oh Daddy don’t turn away/You know that I’m so scared/But will you watch me drown?”
The band’s well-told tales of going to Haiti echo through “Here Comes The Night Time” which could easily be one of Arcade Fire’s best tracks if not for an infuriating abrupt change of pace. The rhythmic drums and dramatic flourishes the band is known for are interrupted throughout with an out-of-place plinking piano. I don’t care who you are, we all need editors, and this snippet was one item too many.
Album one nears an end with Normal Person, an inventive, quirky song reminiscent of the band Clinic, and the poppy Joan Of Arc, which is about as sing-a-long as I’ve ever heard from Arcade Fire.
Had the band stopped at that point, it would prove a fitting, full album. But the band trudged on, at times a good idea, but not always.
“Here Comes The Night Time II” opens album two, a dour, less theatrical song than its initial namesake, but is not indicative to the second album’s overall joie de vivre. Splashes of New Order and guest vocals from David Bowie showcase part two, but it’s “Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice)” where the band gains points for soldiering on. Melodic and ranging, “Awful Sound” harkens to Arcade Fire’s early work, where well-time choruses and playful instrumentals defined the band’s sound.
The ending “Supersymmetry” is a wind-down track of murmurs and quiet tones, like the background sounds of a lush movie coming to an end.
I get it. What can a band do when it’s achieved so much but isn’t nearly done breaking boundaries? Arcade Fire’s main problem with Reflektor is Arcade Fire – it’s an album too full of ideas and not enough focus. Had the band cherry-picked from Reflektor‘s best moments and released that, it would be album of the year. As it is, Reflektor is a strong piece of work, but not atop the band’s resume of work. Even stadium acts get knocked down at some point.
