Arcade Fire makes a compelling comeback with โThe Lightning Iโ and โThe Lightning II,โ lead singles from their 2022 album, WE.ย
I
tโs always a great day when ๐ Grammy-winning alternative band ๐ Arcade Fire is back with new music.ย Finally, ๐ Win Butler and company are set to follow-up 2017โs ๐ฟ Everything Now with their 2022 LP, ๐ฟ WE.ย Leading the charge on WE are two lead singles: ๐ต โThe Lightning Iโ and ๐ต โThe Lightning IIโ.โWe can make it if you donโt quit on me / I wonโt quit on you / Donโt quit on me / We can make it baby.โ Well, those are encouraging lyrics, which is part of the modus operandi on โThe Lightning I.โย โThe Lightning Iโ is the longer of the two singles, though merely crosses the three-minute mark in duration.ย It commences with an ear-catching palette of sounds, including strings and acoustic guitar โ very indie.ย Lyrically and thematically, The Arcade Fire focus on the hardships โ faced by immigrants and the disadvantaged โ as well as optimism for the future despite adversity (hereโs specific insight by Win Butler).ย One lyric that hits incredibly hard appears in the second verse:
โWe were born in paradise, beneath a poisoned sky
Under a bad sign, the micro-age of Gemini
And we are still unlearning, tires are burning in the middle of Rodeo Drive
You know that weโve been beat down and broken, but now we can testify.โ
The ending of โThe Lightning Iโ sets up the contrasting โThe Lightning II,โ which is briefer and intentionally faster.ย Before โThe Lightning II,โ the outro, which Win sings with ๐ Rรฉgine Chassagne is dynamic and powerful.
Final Thoughts ๐ญย
So, is โThe Lightning Iโ a welcome comeback for Arcade Fire? In my eyes, yes.ย Am I as enthused about it as I was, say, ๐ต โEverything Nowโ five years ago? Not necessarily, but I find โThe Lightning Iโ and its inspiration incredibly intriguing.ย Iโm onboard.
๐ Arcade Fire โข ๐ฟ WE โข ๐ท Arcade Fire Music โข ๐ 5.6.22
[๐ท: Arcade Fire Music, Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]
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Arcade Fire, โThe Lightning IIโ | Track Review ๐ต · March 21, 2022 at 11:00 am
[…] Everything Now with their 2022 LP, ๐ฟ WE.ย Leading the charge on WE are two lead singles: ๐ต โThe Lightning Iโ and ๐ต โThe Lightning […]
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