Reflektor - Arcade Fire

If you have already heard Arcade Fire then their latest album is unlikely to change your mind about them: you will either continue to love them or you will continue to fail what all the fuss is about. The problem is that Arcade Fire have a very distinct sound and feel to all of their work, one that manages to split opinions more than any other light indie rock band out there, and this album is an evolution of their sound, rather than a big advancement.

Its a lot of midtempo songs with lyrics about the trials of being young (or young at heart), a bit of an outsider, and not living in the most perfect of worlds. There is a healthy dose of Americana (fittingly, given that they are a Canadian band), along with the odd nod to more exotic things like reggae, electronica, and even some 70's French disco, all rolling along at a nice steady pace. Nothing is going to set off a moshpit, although Normal Person is likely to get your head nodding and You Already Know would get a nice floor going in the right kind of club, as this is more of a listener of an album which you will invariably want to hear played live.

I have to confess that it took a couple of listens for it to find more than a passing place in my heart, most likely due to the perfection that was The Suburbs being setting such a high bar, but right now I can't stop listening to it. This is the rarest of things in this day and age: a collection of music which is best listened to as a whole, rather than a selection of separate songs. It's also a double album, not quite sure why as it's only 76 minutes long so could easily all be put onto a single disc so possibly a bit of an own-goal against the 'this is just pretentious indie shoegasing' crowd that decry them any chance they give. So, to conclude: if you have liked their previous work then "get it now!" as you'll love it, possibly after a few listens, if you haven't listened to their work before then give it a try and then consider getting it, and if you didn't like their previous stuff or just find them annoying then don't get it.