The last time Arcade Fire was heard, they were electrifying. But when you play with electricity, you get shocked. Their latest album, Everything Now (2017), barely contains the defining characteristics of a classic Arcade Fire album, and instead feels like a burned out Refkletor (2014), their charged last release. The ostentatious, in-your-face melodies and repetitive lyrics challenge listeners to question their preconceptions of the band and their genre. Is it a disco-pop revival? An attempt at a Billboard Hot 100? Or a cry for help? Lyrics like โAssisted suicide / She dreams about dying all the time,โ pair with hypnotic beats that cycle in a nauseating whirl; and if Arcade Fire wanted their listeners to feel trapped, they definitely made this obvious: the album even plays in an infinite loop. โGood God Damn,โ asks โYou wanna to get messed up?โ and apparently, we do. [su_quote]…if Arcade Fire wanted their listeners to feel trapped, they definitely made this obvious: the album even plays in an infinite loop.[/su_quote] The same artistic minds that produced Funeral (2004) are now chanting โYou and me we got / Chemistry,โ as if the concoction of hard guitar riffs and stomping progression of drums wasnโt toxic enough. I sat through both โInfinite Contentโ and โInfinite_Contentโ wondering where the โInterventionโ on this album would be. Ruminating through cheesy lyrics and exhausting tempos on the first half of the album, I couldnโt find songwriting, but I easily found the satire. By the end of โEverything Nowโ (โI want it!โ) I was already very aware of Everything Nowโs anti-consumerism, materialism, and any other greed-related-ism. No artist knows how to do a concept album quite like Arcade Fire, but I found the meta jab at society a clichรฉd bore. If it werenโt for the fake cereal boxes and faux-ad-pamphlet lyric book to keep things interesting, I would think Everything Now was just another Pure Comedy (2017) for this year. After a few listens and several more eye-rolls, however, I was able to find myself entranced in the sound. What came was a shocking enjoyment that was independent of complexity, lyrics, or substance. ย Despite everything else, when I came towards โWe Donโt Deserve Love,โ I didnโt find myself unselecting the loop button. Thereโs something about Everything Now thatโs alluring when you take the album for what it is: a sickeningly catchy array of lyrically sub-par songs carried by their melodic intensity. Arcade Fire tried to distance themselves from their past work, and maybe it didnโt produce their best album. However, works like Theย Suburbs (2010) don’t just apparate from midair, and the more they try to emulate their past masterpieces, the less likely they are to succeed. Itโs not to say that their experimentation left the Canadian-originated band bereft of any reputable material, either. The โEverything Nowโ motif that connects the album in a never-ending circle is sonically mesmerizing, and the closing track โPut Your Money on Meโ has me grooving like ABBA just dropped a new single. โWe Donโt Deserve Loveโ is even a proper โjust-in-caseโ ode to the traditional Arcade Fire, acting as a somber morning-after to an LP that feels like a dizzying night out. Objectively, I wouldn’t call Everything Now one of the best releases of the year, but personally, it has been one of my favorites. As long as you donโt dwell on the absence of French lyrics and the entire Arcade Fire discography that came before, Everything Now can be a pleasant listen. Donโt look too much into the chord progression or chanting Win Butler and you may find yourself simply liking the songs instead of finding anything to take seriously, which may be the exact point. Written by Delaney Gomen Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Δ