Over time, Arcade Fire turned from a serious band to one of the most irresponsible banda. They are full of subtle and flat jokes, and the monumental value of The Funeral is replaced with dance music. Yes, Arcade Fire is not the same band and let's start dealing with it.
I believe many remember their glorious beginnings. Still, Arcade Fire is a band that didn't want to remain stagnant, so they were always tentative to move forward and challenge thenselves. Neon Bible was step forward from Funeral, and The Suburbs was something completely new. With Reflektor, they introduced us to their vision of disco. As albums changed, their performances have also changed.
Everything Now comes four years after its predecessor. I was wondering why it took them so long, but as you listen to the record, you realize there is abundance of added sounds that needed to be super polished. In the introduction, I have mentioned how they have become an immature band, and that was hinter on Reflektor. Now they have dived into dance even more, and it all comes off a little bit ridiculous. I mean, their pre-release campaign was boosted by a condom with the message - Love is hard, sex is easy. And that is my description of their new album - loving it is hard, but you can easily have sex with it on the dancefloor.
Everything now was the first promotional single and it sounds like a tribute to David Bowie in Abba fashion. This is probably one of the most radiophonic singles of their career. Maybe they have gained a new audience with it, but they have definitely lost the portion of the old one. Two weeks later came Creature Comfort, a song that castigated the state of nation in which popularity became more important than authenticity. Is this self-criticism? Song sounds powerful, and the verses are very socially proactive.
Signs of Life bring us back to Saturday Night Fever era. The lyrics are similar to Creature Comfort, but the song does not share the some fierceness. However, funky disco rhythym is probably going to serve them well at their concerts. The last promotional single (until now) was Electric Blue, a rip off of Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) that lacks the ability to be memorable.
Peter Pan and Chemistry resemble Jamirpquai, Infinite Content radiates with rock energy, and Infinite_Content is a cool retro downtempo number for drinking lemonade on a terrace. Before the ending track comes my favorite - We Don't Deserve Love and I am pretty sure all of their fans will consider it as an absolute standout.
Times change, bands change. Everything Now should have been in the distant future. To conclude in gentle manner, Arcade Fire can still show how much and how good they can even though it doesn't seem they are inspired to show much.
