Arcade Fire: Reflektor
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Genre: Disco, Indie rockPros:
Arcade Fire explores new territory, with LCD Soundsystem legend James Murphy by their sideCons:
Bowie's moments at the five-minute mark are short and almost hard to distinguish from Butler's.Arcade Fire turns up the tempo with disco-soaked track
Arcade Fire turns up the tempo with delicious disco-soaked track
Some of the greatest rock groups have jumped into the aisle of disco; Blondie did, so did the Kinks, Chicago and the Rolling Stones. And then there’s some groups you would have never expected to make that leap of faith, particularly in the age of today’s modern rock. With all ears on what Arcade Fire has next up their sleeve after taking home the coveted Grammy for 2010’s The Suburbs and storming the stages at the world’s largest festivals, one may be surprised to hear “Reflektor,” a seven-minute disco spread decorated with “Heart of Glass” attitude. Like a Tom Moulton 12-inch single, James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and producer Markus Dravs ushers the Canadian indie rock band into a world of hypnotic beats and intoxicating vocals that gives them their most serious uptempo workout. Lead singer Win Butler puts on his best David Bowie impression, even as Bowie himself jumps into the track providing exotic add-ons. Band co-founder Régine Chassagne works her way to the forefront using French phrases and complimentary coy duet lines, as the pair sing about lust “on a stage/in the reflective age.” Towards the track’s final minutes, Owen Pallett’s orchestra swells like a beating heart in a marathon. History will easily write this off as being the greatest standout of their catalog just for being such a funky leap into Daft Punkdom, but it deserves a better definition than that. It’s Arcade Fire – with all of their frills and quirks – but on a DJ’s turntable.
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