Arcade Fire veered dangerously close to the sun with 2017’s underwhelming ‘Everything Now‘. The album contained ambitious ideas that often failed to deliver on their initial promise and at times felt intentionally self-parodying. for the first time, I feared the indie darlings had lost their touch. Judging by the strength of intention and delivery of new single/singles “The Lightning I, II” it is quite possible my worry was misplaced.
Perhaps the fact that the song is sequential is a good omen (see “Sprawl I, II” from ‘The Suburbs‘ and “Neighbourhood 1-4″ from ‘Funeral‘. Like those songs, this comeback may well become an essential part of the band’s repertoire. Right from its opening guitar strum, the track grabs your attention proving to be ambitious but, crucially, extremely hummable. In the hands of a lesser band a song clocking in at over 7 minutes, albeit presented as 2 separate parts, would suffer from a degree of hubris but “The Lightning” grows like a behemoth and offers a satisfying payoff in its final frantic third.
Lyrically you could accuse Win Butler of being overly grandiose but within the context of the song and, dare I say, the times we are living in, a degree of optimism is most welcome. Besides, by the time the song reaches its final chords, you will be shouting every word back at your speakers.
Weekend Videos: Arcade Fire – “The Lightning I, II”
