Music Review: Arcade Fire//Everything Now

Arcade Fire: Everything Now

Rating: 7/10

Arcade Fire is just one of those bands that has always stayed relevant throughout my life. No matter how old I get, or what changes I experience in my life, Arcade Fire always seems to care.

The band released their most recent album, Everything Now, on July 28th, 2017, roughly four years after their last album, Reflektor.

It’s no secret that the band’s overall sound has changed. Whereas they started out with an acoustic-heavy, rebellious rock sound, they opted for a more electronic-based, mellow sound for their new album (which makes sense as Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter helped produce the album). Although different from the band’s first few albums, nothing that is characteristic of Arcade Fire is particularly lost in Everything Now – the writing remains the same and the band still talks about issues that plague today’s world.

The first two tracks, “Everything_Now (continued),” and “Everything Now,” do a great job of setting the theme for the album as a whole – the constant, material neediness of society. As the band sums up in the song, “I need it/(Everything now!) I can’t live without/(Everything now!)”

True to the nature of their previous albums, the tracks get progressively darker in the middle. One of my favorites, “Creature Comfort,” is about teen suicide, and young people chasing after fame to have purpose in life. Also true to their older albums is “Peter Pan,” a track about not wanting to grow up.

Another one of my favorites is the track “We Don’t Deserve Love,” – it’s slower and calmer than the other tracks on the album, and has more of that allegorical lyricism that attracted me to Arcade Fire in the first place. It also just tugs at the heartstrings (look at the title – how could it not?)

For those who enjoyed Arcade Fire’s previous albums, “Electric Blue” is a must-listen. It’s totally reminiscent of “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains),” one of the best tracks off of The Suburbs. To be honest, “Electric Blue” took me a couple of listens to get into, but now I’m completely hooked and highly recommend it.

The last track, “Everything Now (continued),” ties into the first two tracks and makes the album come full circle beautifully. Arcade Fire, as per usual, leaves us with a sense of questioning (in the good way!).

As different as the new album might be, I’d definitely give it a listen, whether you’re an old Arcade Fire fan or simply in the mood for something new – it’s sure to stay with you regardless.