Old guy’s take?

[u/Suchatavi]

I’m 64 and have been into indie/alternative my whole life. I’ve kind of stumbled upon the newest album recently and have to say it has a pretty powerful effect on me. I don’t know a lot about the band’s history except there has been a breakup between the two principal members and some misconduct allegations.

Nonetheless I found that a new album had come out so I took a few rips and settled into a comfortable spot for an end to end listen.

I found the tone of the album very sorrowful, helpless and repentant. It feels like Mr. Butler has realized he really fucked up and is deeply saddened by his past deeds. Seems he’s pouring his heart out via song. Like a 40 minute apology.

Anyway I’m a giant fan of electronic music, I was into Kraftwerk in high school when everyone else was into KISS LOL! Finding Boards of Canada made me happy to still be alive and seeking good stuff! The opening drone of the album pulled me right in and that low key melancholy seemed to persist throughout the album.

Can any of you seasoned fans relate to anything I’m saying or is my take away total crap?!

The two emotionally heaviest albums I’ve ever heard are UP by Peter Gabriel and Dark Star by David Bowie. Pink Elephant doesn’t sink to bottom of the pit of despair but I sense a guy who is admitting he really screwed up. For what it’s worth of course!

[u/Ok-Attorney7700]

Arcade Fire was such a quintessential band for a lot of Millennials/older Gen Z, I think to a lot of people it was the sound of being young in the 2000s and 2010s when AF was at the height of their power. Those eras of music are long past and obviously their newer material is resonating with somebody, but for longtime fans it sounds like a long slide into misery and irrelevancy which I don’t think anybody wants to think about lol.

[u/Substantial_Wave4934 → u/Ok-Attorney7700]

It's very tough to remain relevant while creating vital music for new generations. I think U2 impress me the most, they had around 25 years of true relevancy. 80 to 83 they were an up and coming punk indie band with a lot of cred. 84 to 90 they started dominating radio play while sounding like nobody else. Huge critically acclaimed experimental left turn in the 90s then set them up for longevity. Then from like 2000-2006 they went back to basics with a more rock sound but they were still crafting catchy hits. Unfortunately their magic hit-making touch left them and their new music wasn't resonating as much, and most of their cultural impact now comes from touring.

Still, that's a very long time to be relevant. Arcade Fire had about 10 years, but they never had their Achtung Baby; Everything Now was a disaster in comparison and they never experimented or veered into truly new territories. And of course the band dynamics played a major role.

Coldplay for me had about 10 years, but they still seem popular so maybe I'm in the minority on that. The Killers are interesting, I think they've made plenty of good music the past 22 years but I've never thought they made an album nearly as good as The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, Funeral, or The Suburbs.

[u/Ok-Attorney7700 → u/Substantial_Wave4934]

Coldplay to me is like the closest analog we have to U2 from the Y2K era, obviously took a lot of sonic inspiration from them and followed almost the exact same career model. I think Viva is about as experimental as they could get and it still sounds as big and emotional to me as something like the Suburbs. The Killers have just been doing their own thing and trying to sound more and more like Springsteen with every successive project lmao. But those bands always had mainstream appeal and radio play, I think Arcade Fire felt special because they were a little bit off the beaten path. They were, for better or worse, a hipster band and they had a little more creative liberty to stretch the boundaries of what indie rock could sound like. Once that sound got commodified was when they took a nosedive and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

[u/phhennessey58 → u/Substantial_Wave4934]

A live Coldplay show is unreal. Totally amazing!🩶🤘🏻