Arcade Fire’s follow up to the Grammy Award-winning 2010 album “The Suburbs” turned out much different than expected — at least for me. Given their previous albums “Funeral,” “Neon Bible,” and “The Suburbs,” I anticipated grandiose indie rock anthems streaming from my stereo system; not the dreamy haze of funky beats and intense sound effects that characterizes “Reflektor.” But I wouldn’t say this album was a downgrade — the euphoric tone provides a new depth to Arcade Fire’s typical repertoire.
From the beginning disco beat in the titular song “Reflektor” to the last manipulated notes in “Supersymmetry,” its easy to be drawn into to the album. Each track has a distinctly different sound than the last, while still maintaining a style that ties the album together.
LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy was brought in to help produce the record, resulting in lush sound effects that echo throughout the entire album. Reverberation and delay in particular are used very heavily in the album, giving it a mystical and dreamlike aura. Infectious riffs bleed through the elaborate electronic workings as Win Butler’s introspective lyrics consider such heavy topics as heaven, death and an adaptive tale of Greek legends Orpheus and Eurydice.
Many of the tracks sound reminiscent of the vocal style of David Bowie, who coincidentally makes a guest appearance on “Reflektor.” In my opinion, if David Bowie wants to cameo on your album, then you must be doing something right.
In “Here Comes the Nighttime” a simple riff is transformed into a spectacularly groovy dance anthem. In “Afterlife,” we are reminded of the typical Arcade Fire feel of large anthems with the whole band backing with supportive “ooh ooh’s” and a deep saxophone belting out the bass line. In “Porno,” an appropriately addictive pairing of synthesized beats and chords combines with a string section to create a disco-reminiscent tune. The final ballad, “Supersymmetry” is a hauntingly beautiful mix of whirling strings with arpeggiated synthesized chords laid over a dance beat. About six minutes in, however, “Supersymmetry” becomes a strange sound experiment with echoing short samples with different sound effects.
“Reflektor” is a proper and welcomed follow-up to “The Suburbs.” It is sonically creative, while still maintaining its appeal. But although this album is excellent in many regards, it isn’t perfect. Sometimes Arcade Fire’s attempt to make elaborate layers results in confusing and hard to follow songs, but they never go so far as to throw the listener completely off. There were times where I felt the urge to skip to the next song to get a taste of some new material (a common problem when most songs are around 6 minutes long), but I never felt the urge to stop listening to the album for one second.
If you aren’t interested in musical experimentation, then “Reflektor” might not be for you. But for listeners who enjoy experimental art rock, I highly recommend this album. It definitely has become one of my favorites, and no doubt will make many “Best of 2013” lists.
Stand-out Songs:
Reflektor
Here Comes The Night Time
Porno
Afterlife
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