#1. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
Full Album
Arcade Fire - Porno
After much anticipation here it is, the best album of 2013! In fact it is actually a double-album so you're getting great bang for your buck on this one today. After taking the world by storm in 2010 with the Grammy Award-Winning The Suburbs the Montreal indie rockers decided to take a few years off. During that time husband and wife Win Butler, vocals and guitar, and Regine Chassagne, vocals, keyboards, accordion, etc. had a baby and the band decided to not release anything new until Regine was comfortably off maternity leave. In their absence they left many fans waiting for and wondering about a return. The wait was definitely worth it as Arcade Fire stormed back with over 100 minutes of brand new music that completely changed their sound, yet was so obviously still them.
Arcade Fire are quite possibly the coolest band on planet earth and here's why: during recording sessions in New York City the band was hard at work on lead single "Reflektor" when David Motherfuckin' Bowie decided to drop by for some tea. He listened to what they were working on and dug it so much that he asked if he could participate on the track. So just before the 5 minute mark you can hear the backing vocals from a living rock n' roll legend. And, no, he isn't even credited on the song, solidifying the coolness. So something like this, along with the fact that they have updated and improved their sound for each successive album, made numerous award-winning music videos, are one of the best live acts in the world (#4 according to Rolling Stone Magazine), value family, and are Canadian, simply cements them as the coolest band on earth.
Reflektor opens with the title track, a seven minute epic that rumbles along with frantic energy, claiming new instruments at every break until it erupts with an explosion of horns and piano. Immediately the presence of producer James Murphy (frontman of LCD Soundsystem and disco-funk DJ extraordinaire) is apparent as Arcade Fire's anthemic rock sound is upgraded and given a sonic boost of horns and percussion, making it extremely danceable. Up next is "We Exist" in which the bouncy bass line resembles a great 80's movie made in the 21st Century and "Flashbulb Eyes", a bombastic, dark tale of losing part of your soul to the camera flash that reaches a blaring climax before fading to the sounds of party-goers. This begins the centrepiece of the album, "Here Comes The Night Time", a song that begins with a blitzkreig of percussion, guitar and horns that will get even the laziest, soberest person off their ass and into full party mode. It then completely breaks down into full chillout mode as Caribbean beach sounds and percussion take over, reflecting the Haitian background of Chassagne and an inspirational trip she and Win took there last year. The first disc closes with straightforward rockers "Normal Person" and "Joan of Arc" and the bouncy "You Already Know" which I foresee being a hit this year.
The second disc begins with "Here Comes The Night Time II", a quiet, slowed down version of the disc 1 counterpart. Instead of the frantic, party energy it sounds almost as though Butler laments this version of the night time. Other standouts from this side include the heavy guitar beat and dual vocals from Regine and Win on "It's Never Over (Of Orpheus)", the perfect indie-pop melody of second single "The Afterlife" and today's chosen song "Porno" with its very 80's vibe and haunting chorus. A plethora of instruments grace "Porno", from the synth beat to the string breakdown to the epic sax solo near the end. Also the fan made video found above is quite well done and the lyrics are there as an added bonus.
Once again Arcade Fire have stepped up to the plate and knocked a grand slam out of the park; it seems that they can do no wrong. It is true that they did receive some criticism from fans that wanted to hear The Suburbs again but I feel that changing your sound and style is what artists do. Plus had they just made another similar album that would've been too easy and they would've received criticism anyways. I strongly recommend that you catch these guys live if you can. As of right now they are not playing in Vancouver this year, but they are at The Gorge Amphitheater, quite possibly the best venue in the world, in August. Also I have a feeling that they are going to headline Squamish Valley Music Festival this year, which occurs right after the Gorge show, so fingers crossed for that (lineup announced Jan. 29).
So with another year in the books here are some other albums that I have to acknowledge as honourable mentions: Kanye West - Yeezus, Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork, Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City (Rolling Stone Magazine's #1), Atoms For Peace - Amok, Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg, Washed Out - Paracosm, Jay-Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail, Shad - Flying Colours, Beyonce - BEYONCE, and Hallow Moon - Hallow Moon. I hope you enjoyed reading and listening to them as much as I did. Cheers!
The second disc begins with "Here Comes The Night Time II", a quiet, slowed down version of the disc 1 counterpart. Instead of the frantic, party energy it sounds almost as though Butler laments this version of the night time. Other standouts from this side include the heavy guitar beat and dual vocals from Regine and Win on "It's Never Over (Of Orpheus)", the perfect indie-pop melody of second single "The Afterlife" and today's chosen song "Porno" with its very 80's vibe and haunting chorus. A plethora of instruments grace "Porno", from the synth beat to the string breakdown to the epic sax solo near the end. Also the fan made video found above is quite well done and the lyrics are there as an added bonus.
Once again Arcade Fire have stepped up to the plate and knocked a grand slam out of the park; it seems that they can do no wrong. It is true that they did receive some criticism from fans that wanted to hear The Suburbs again but I feel that changing your sound and style is what artists do. Plus had they just made another similar album that would've been too easy and they would've received criticism anyways. I strongly recommend that you catch these guys live if you can. As of right now they are not playing in Vancouver this year, but they are at The Gorge Amphitheater, quite possibly the best venue in the world, in August. Also I have a feeling that they are going to headline Squamish Valley Music Festival this year, which occurs right after the Gorge show, so fingers crossed for that (lineup announced Jan. 29).
So with another year in the books here are some other albums that I have to acknowledge as honourable mentions: Kanye West - Yeezus, Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork, Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City (Rolling Stone Magazine's #1), Atoms For Peace - Amok, Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg, Washed Out - Paracosm, Jay-Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail, Shad - Flying Colours, Beyonce - BEYONCE, and Hallow Moon - Hallow Moon. I hope you enjoyed reading and listening to them as much as I did. Cheers!
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