Afterlife - Arcade Fire

I'm not reeeally a huge Arcade Fire fan these days, but their new album, Reflektor, was released today and I must say I'm pretty excited about it. I haven't listened to it enough to tell you anything meaningful about it, but so far it's been very dig-able. As a whole, the album has some ups and downs, but generally it stays enjoyable from beginning to end. 

One song in particular, "Afterlife," was the clear standout on this album for me. As Win Butler dishes out a barrage of heartfelt lyrics-- "When love is gone, where does it go?"-- a driving beat and great backing vocals combine to create the most instantly accessible songs on the album. Now, if you ever really got into their debut album, Funeral, then maybe you remember "Haiti"-- one of Régine Chassagnes feature songs. "Haiti's" catchy acoustic guitar riff and tender vocals made for a pretty pleasant change of pace in Funeral and it was one of my favorites for awhile. When things began to wrap up with "Afterlife," I couldn't help but be amazed at what a clear progression this band has made over the years. "Afterlife" is a little more anthemic and the lyrical content takes a big shift from the narrative in "Haiti" but the songs are so strikingly similar. It feels like Arcade Fire dug up "Haiti," replaced the guitars with keyboards and layered on the production effects. It's clearly still the Arcade Fire that the indie world fell in love with oh so long ago, but I'd say they've gotten a little smarter and-- dare I say it-- a little older. But I think Arcade Fire has a long career ahead of them and so far they've aged brilliantly. 

Here's "Afterlife" on the Colbert Report!

I can't wait to hear what people have to say about this album, and let me know if you like the song!

-Kane