On WE, Arcade Fire Raise the Stakes Higher Than Ever, But to Mixed Results: Review
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The post On WE, Arcade Fire Raise the Stakes Higher Than Ever, But to Mixed Results: Review appeared first on Consequence.
“It’s an age of doubt/ and I doubt we’ll figure it out,” sings Win Butler on the first line of “Age of Anxiety I,” the opening track of Arcade Fire’s sixth studio album, WE (out Friday, May 6th). From the very start, things are bleak and contradictory; the song essentially describes a full-on panic attack, even though the music beneath it is synth-covered, electrifying dance-rock, and as the track comes to a close, Butler trades repetitions of the phrases “It’s all about you” and “It’s not about you.”
The latter contradiction is a crucial one in the context of WE: There is a deep consideration from the band about the all-or-nothing cultural mentality that we find ourselves in in 2022, and the separation of “I” and “We” is what makes up the core of the album. The first half of WE precisely reflects the selfish, anxiety-ridden habits of modern life, our self-destructive tendencies that lead to dissociation, apathy, and anguish; the latter half, then, is entirely liberating — it focuses on unity, the power of the collective, family, and offers a beacon of hope.
If these concepts feel weighty and a little too big, then it must be an Arcade Fire album. From the outset, with their landmark debut, Funeral, nearly 18 years ago, Arcade Fire have been operating with Capital Letters, seeking to reflect the biggest emotions with passion and poise. Throughout their storied career, you could argue that they’ve successfully merged an arena-sized fervor with an acute, art rock sensibility, and this strategy has arguably only failed them once — 2017’s Everything Now.
But a lot can change in five years: Everything Now investigated our culture of excess and capitalism in the Trump era with a tongue-in-cheek quality, but the majority of its songs ended up being forgettable and, at times, hollow. WE, on the other hand, investigates many of the same fraught ideological concepts, but with the honesty and grandeur that characterized the band’s biggest albums to date, and with stakes that have never been higher.
The urgency on WE is palpable. The first half contains many of the same cynical, zeitgeist-y observations seen on Everything Now and 2013’s Reflektor, but rather than strictly point the finger at the audience in judgement with a wink and a nudge, Butler and co. essentially perform a version of mental collapse in the social media age, scattered and effervescent and agitated all at once. “Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)” picks up where “Age of Anxiety I” left off, but doubles down on the electro punk aesthetic, offering several cathartic moments of dance rock amidst lyrics about falling deeper and deeper into the depths of digital content. The disco romp of both “Age of Anxiety” numbers is clearly in Arcade Fire’s back pocket, but similar to “Reflektor,” they use this energy as a way into an anxious mentality, a frenetic attempt to capture an overloaded mind.
And then there’s the sprawling, four-part “End of the Empire I-IV,” which serves as the catalyst for the more sensitive second half of WE. For one, it’s worth mentioning that even though WE is the shortest Arcade Fire album to date, there is no need for a nine-minute mediation on global collapse, regardless of its thematic ties and narrative-driven structure. The “Age of Anxiety” numbers bring an influx of energy, and you can’t help but feel that “End of the Empire” deflates it in favor of a more organic rise and fall.
But “End of the Empire” ends up succeeding in kicking the humanity of WE into high gear: As Butler and Régine Chassagne announce “We unsubscribe/ Fuck Season 5,” that steadfast vow to be present with one another and reject spending “half your life fast asleep” gives way to the heart-on-your-sleeve approach of “The Lightning I-II.” Back when it was released in March of this year, “The Lightning” ensured the return to form that Arcade Fire promised, and its peaks — particularly the full-speed-ahead, cards-on-the-table “The Lightning II” — are right in line with some of the best Arcade Fire moments in their history.
The rest of WE digs its heels in earnestness, but to mixed results. The acoustic-driven “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” is a sweet, emotionally wise guidebook for Butler’s son, and though there’s a plethora of beautiful and therapeutic messages throughout, the music itself feels vague and much closer to the “stomp/clap/hey!” indie folk that could only be fashionable on Arcade Fire’s first three albums.
Similarly, the Chassagne-led “Unconditional II (Race and Religion)” features some slick synth pop and an infectious bass line, but the “kumbaya” lyrics about unity across identities and the awkward melodic choices make the song feel like an afterthought. However, the closing title track brings the album back to its tender center; there is no overwhelming fanfare in its pared-down arrangement, and as the instruments rise and fall in the song’s final seconds, Butler asks repeatedly, “When everything ends/ can we do it again?”
WE is sure to be the most polarizing Arcade Fire album yet. On the one hand, fans that were hoping the band would move away from the poppier, disco-centric style they’ve championed over the last decade in favor of their classic indie rock odysseys will certainly appreciate WE. With the two most modern, pop-leaning songs kicking off the album, it’s clear that Butler and co. are using pop as a foil to the more open-ended second half of the album.
Then on the other hand, their reaches toward a humanity-driven, all-encompassing concept of unity and love can be pretty heavy handed, and frankly, a bit unimaginative. Butler announcing that he “unsubscribes” in “End of the Empire” is a striking moment, sure, but it’s also a similar kind of play to the audience that characterized Everything Now. Butler wants that moment to be the catalyst towards liberation — there’s an encouragement to unplug, reset, and (pun intended) wake up.
Which leads us to the difficult reality of artists in a similar position to Arcade Fire going back to their “roots” by telling us to turn off our phones because they’re poisoning our minds. While Butler isn’t necessarily wrong, it is unfortunately a very common cultural and artistic sentiment in 2022, and rather than aim for a much more nuanced take about the relationship between mental health, technology, and music performance a la Bo Burnham’s Inside, Arcade Fire’s answer is simpler: Be present, love one another, care for your family, and relish in your own humanity.
This points to a general lack of specificity in the second half of WE, but it also proves that Arcade Fire are still turning the same dial that kicked off the Reflektor and Everything Now eras, even if the music hearkens back to the widescreen romps of Funeral, Neon Bible, and The Suburbs. It shows that when tasked with depicting our modern condition, they can succeed greatly (as demonstrated in “Age of Anxiety”), but when they try to come up with an answer or a revelation, it’s difficult for them to rise to the occasion the way they used to. Or rather, those simple messages maybe just don’t cut it anymore, even if they once did.
Overall, it should be noted that Arcade Fire — with all their double albums and heavy concepts — have never tried something as ambitious as WE. It’s the sound of a band digging deep, sharing the lessons they’ve learned, and channeling their experiences into something bigger than all its members combined. Even if it’s slightly lopsided and occasionally heavy-handed, this album undoubtedly proves that Arcade Fire have a lot of gas in the tank, and they’ll do whatever it takes to… (I’m sorry) keep the car running.
WE Artwork:
On WE, Arcade Fire Raise the Stakes Higher Than Ever, But to Mixed Results: Review
Paolo Ragusa
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