Arcade Fire have gone disco! The Canadian ensemble released their groover of a new single, “Reflektor,“ this past Monday with an accompanying video (see below). The track, produced by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem fame, was inspired by “Haitian rhythms” and voodoo imagery according to frontman Win Butler. Oooh la la! And if that doesn’t sound enticing enough, just give the track a spin and surrender to the path of Arcade Fire/James Murphy righteousness.
From the first measure, it’s pretty evident that Win & Co. have switched things up. Arcade Fire has dabbled in rhythm-centric tracks before (“Neighborhood #2,” “Sprawl II”), but “Reflektor” is an entirely different approach. The song is dominated by a mid-tempo groove, thanks in large part to the prominent congas and synths. It’s like Talking Heads meets ABBA meets Berlin-era Bowie. Oh! Speaking of Bowie, HE’S ON THE TRACK. Rumors circled that Bowie had visited the band at Electric Ladyland Studios in New York and, sure enough, he chimes in around the five-minute mark with some backing vocals. Although I may disagree with their rather terse use of Mr. Bowie’s talents, I’ll take what I can get.
“Reflektor” accomplishes essentially what every great first single should in that it leaves a wide-open horizon as to what the band’s forthcoming album will bring and, moreover, it’s just an awesome song. Reflektor the album is out 10/29.