New Music Spotlight: Everything Now from Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire, fronted by husband/wife team Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, released their fifth studio album, Everything Now, on July 28th of this year.  Though they’ve been a popular band since their first album came out nearly thirteen years ago, Everything Now is my first real exposure to Arcade Fire.

From what I’ve gathered, this latest album differs musically from their previous efforts and has met with mixed reviews.  Perhaps it is my unfamiliarity and subsequent lack of expectation, or maybe I am not as good a judge of these things as I like to think I am, but I really like Everything Now.

For starters, I am always looking for bands that I consider “Boomer Friendly,” and this album fits that bill.  It would be an excellent starting point for a Baby Boomer to begin an exploration of millennial music.  Though no particular ’70s band comes to mind, the sound is reminiscent of any number of medium-rock bands of that era.

Arcade Fire

The album begins with the title song – a prime example of what I’m talking about.  “Everything Now” has a traditionally upbeat pop-rock sound, with little to unnerve the older listener.  But while the sound could have come straight from the ’70s, the message is clearly for the internet generation.  The title of the song is its mantra, summing up what the internet is all about, and serves as a springboard to satirical criticism of today’s social ills.

 

This happy family with everything now
We turn the speakers up till they break
‘Cause every time you smile it’s a fake
Stop pretending, you’ve got…
Everything now! I need it
Everything now! I want it
Everything now! I can’t live without
Everything now! I can’t live without
Everything now!

Much of the rest of the album follows with similar social commentary, often centering on the internet’s influence.  The least subtle example would be two songs, back-to-back, titled “Infinite Content” and “Infinite_Content” respectively, both consisting nearly exclusively of the repeated phrase:

Infinite content
Infinite content
We’re infinitely content

The subject of suicide is addressed more than once, and is the focus of the most interesting song on the album, “Creature Comfort.”  At first blush, the following lines seem aimed at getting a chuckle.

God, make me famous
If you can’t just make it painless

But the song takes a dark turn with the reveal that “it” is suicide.

The album isn’t devoid of hope, however.  And even contains, thank goodness, one really fun song called “Chemistry.”  Can’t say for sure that it is included strictly to lighten the mood, but it does.

The album does tend to hit the skids about halfway through, and sort of languishes through the entire second half.  If you own the vinyl, I suspect side two will spend much more time pressed against the turntable than side one.

Despite this lackluster finish, the first half of Everything Now has enough going for it to carry the second, and is very much worth investing some of your valuable listening time.

Fun Stuff.

• The theme song to the popular ’70s TV show M*A*S*H is called “Suicide is Painless.”  Listening to “Creature Comfort,” it’s easy to want to make a connection there.
• I said that the sound didn’t put me in mind of any one ’70s band, but that’s not entirely true.  It’s just that what did come to mind was such an unlikely comparison that I hesitated to make it.  But here it goes:  if you remove the vocals from some of these songs, you could easily have the instrumental to an ABBA song. Two best examples:
  • “Everything Now” – “Dancing Queen”
  • “Signs of Life” – “Voulez-Vous”

 

Here’s Everything Now on Spotify

 

Listen.  Enjoy.