Arcade Fire: The Band Gets Nostalgic With Their Past With “WE” Album

arcade Fire has not recovered from that symbolic “kiss of death” they received when they won the Grammy for Best Album of the Year for their album The Suburbs, in 2011. That was a victory that no one saw coming (certainly neither Eminem nor the “indie” fans who followed them) although it was fair. From a distance, it can be said that this was the last time this gang of hyperactive Canadians sounded convinced of their nostalgic vibe for the little human that survives in the world. Then came the marasmus.

Just as children grow up, the group exchanged sincerity for the intellectual armor of cynicism. They bet everything on the dance floor, trying to sound hedonistic, or to validate remote African roots in their lineage which, however, lacked tons of “saoco” to convince, at least in these hot lands. The thing got worrying with his penultimate .Everything Now (2017), where the always healthy anti-capitalist comment came out with a lot of bone.

Hence the importance of WE (2022), his sixth album, released this week. It seeks to recover the splendor of their early work, with a production that is too “pro” by Nigel Godrich, Radiohead’s favourite. And the lyrics still keep the solemnity of those who are convinced that theirs is a mission. This time, electronic dance music has yielded (not disappeared) to stadium rock. Fans of the latest Arcade Fire can still enjoy the synthesized sound of “Rabbit Hole”, almost cracking open the plate.

And although there are only nine songs, it is an album that feels long, with almost all the songs presented in a diptych format. The start is not auspicious nor is the ending emotional (despite summoning the great Peter Gabriel) so the best thing happens in the middle, when “End of Empire I-III” arrives, which pays tribute to David Bowie glam ballads, or in “The Lightning”, parts I and II, where they do not hide their Springsteenian roots. Arcade Fire hasn’t redeemed itself or returned to the path they left behind in pursuit of their legitimate artistic ambitions, but they have taken a still lukewarm step in a more organic direction with who they used to be. //

SCORE: Three stars out of five or 3/5