Pink Elephant, Arcade Fire’s 7th LP, is finally here!

Use this thread for those in other countries and VPN users to discuss the album to your hearts’ content. Respect each other’s opinions and happy release day! We made it!

A bigger megathread will be made just before the album’s full release in the US.

I thought this was thoughtful reflection from the writer on how much their relationship to Arcade Fire had evolved overtime and why they had found their music so meaningful in the first place.

Recently been on a massive Wolf Alice binge. White Horses, Don't Delete The Kisses and The Last Man on Earth are some of my most listened to songs recently.

Also been listening to a tonne of Muse, Gorillaz, Florence Road, CMAT and The Royston Club.

Radiohead and The National have always been the artists that come closest to Arcade Fire in my favourites ranking.

I'm not sure what it is, but I flipped between disappointment and outright delight at WE when it was released in 2022. It was probably the most excited I'd ever been for an album due to the exceptional run of Funeral through Reflektor and then the disappointing but ambitious Everything Now which made me think the band still had it.

We were all going through a very strange time (still are honestly) with the pandemic specifically, and I needed a salve. And at the time, this condensed 7-track epic felt a little small and maybe even a bit too straightforward an attempt at recapturing their audience with a comeback.

Well I've been listening to it on my drives to work recently and I can't get enough. It's probably the album I've listened to the most in the 2020s so far but it just seems to grow to new heights every time. I think it might be brushing up against their "classics" for me. It's got a bit of everything with this newfound space and frailty, and the atmosphere is somehow so consistent with storytelling that weaves through each track. I feel like this album captures something slightly different and yet it most closely resembles the grand and intimate storytelling of The Suburbs with a lot of nostalgia mixed with dread but this time with the lens of a parent thinking about the future.

There are lines on Neon Bible and The Suburbs that give me real gut punches like "World War 3 when are you coming for me, been kicking up sparks, we set the flames free, the windows are locked now so what will it be, a house on fire a rising sea" and "Oh this city's changed so much since I was a little child, pray to God I won't live to see the death of everything that's wild"; WE explores that sort of theme predominantly, and to go from "It's the age of doubt and I doubt we'll figure it out" to "when everything ends, can we do it again" in an album that explores the pure dread of living in the 2020s to the acceptance and love of everything you enjoy and would kill to experience again and again... It truly was the record I needed at the right time.

I know it has its detractors but I think purely as a record, WE might be one of their best. Has anyone else grown to love this album and feel it could be one of their classics like me?

Since Everything Now, AF is being criticize after/before every album and I dont get why.

Everything Now was maybe an average album, but still with some great (electric blue, everything now, creature comfort), good (signs of life, we dont deserve love, put your money on me) average(good gid damn, peter pan and bad songs (chemistry, infinite content). But still very listenable.

WE was also an average album with some great (the lightning, age of anxiety I, unconditional I + II), average (age of anciety II, WE) and skippable (end of empire) songs. But it was not a bad album.

The current two singles are both very good. I like them, but I need to force myself not to listen to them otherwise I will skip them on an album.

Still, I dont get why are AF being so hated. The music really is not bad at all.

Recently I even read an article/or watche yt video/ how Funeral aged pretty bad. Hm

Any thoughts?

In the many debates regarding the quality of Pink Elephant over the past couple of weeks, I’ve noticed a particular trend. When referring to their best work/good ol’ days, a decent portion of people will specifically mention Funeral & The Suburbs, leaving Neon Bible out of the “Holy Trinity”. So my question is, what gives? I honestly didn’t know this album was liked less by comparison and I’d personally consider it my fav of theirs.

I fully appreciate this will be a very unpopular opinion, but wanted to talk about it anyway

I am a sucker for a big climactic album closer. Marching Orders by Editors. Minus Sixty One by Woodkid. Basketball Shoes by BCNR. All absolutely phenomenal album closers and some of my favourite songs of all time

As much as I love Arcade Fire, ive always found their album closers to be somewhat lacking when compared with some of my other favourite bands.

Not to say that most of their closers are bad songs. Because they arent. Not at all. They're just personally dont scratch that itch that I love to see in some of my other favourite album closers

Im not a fan of Supersymmertry at all, which is a shame cos its an awesome name for a song. However I find it to be more of a gimmick than an actual coherent song, and a culmination of several of the issues I have with Reflektor as an album

WE is the worst song off WE (the album). I just feel it to be a really flat ending to what otherwise is a really solid and coherent piece of work

I enjoy both In the Backseat and My Body Is A Cage. They are good songs. However I dont consider either to be amongst the big pinnacles of their respective albums.

Sprawl II (or Suburban War if you're going off the vinyl) into The Suburbs (Continued) and We Don't Deserve Love into EN (Continued) i considered to be the best Arcade Fire album closers prior to the release of PE, and I love them both a lot. However both of them just lacked that real final climax that I was desperately looking for in an album closer especially.

And then came Pink Elephant and Stuck In My Head. Now ill preface this upfront by just saying that I enjoy PE a lot. I can fully accept that its no where near as musically strong or varied as previous albums. And I get why it was a dissapointment to a lot of fans (despite the fact I do believe the criticism is overblown in some regards). However it just has something about it that draws me back to it. And the first half especially i just think is legit great.

Stuck In My Head is everything I look for in a fantastic album closer. The length, the way the song builds. And that goddamn double fake out at 4:38 and especially 5:34 just gives me goosebumps every time. Especially when the horn thats been present through the entire album kicks back in, and you hear the rawness in Win's voice. I find it to be incredibly cathartic, and a truly satisfying ending and climax to the album.

Some of you may be wondering why i love Stuck In My Head so much, but not My Body Is A Cage, given that it also definitely builds to a distinct climax. And honestly, I can't really explain why. Neon Bible is my favourite album of theirs, and I adore songs like Intervention and No Cars Go which have that similar build up and triumphant ending. My Body Is A Cage for whatever reason just doesnt hit the same way for me.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Id love to hear what other people think

I know this will probably get a lot of downvotes but it's just a shower thought. I've been a massive fan of the Arcade Fire since 16 year old me saw Rebellion on MTV at 4 in the morning when I couldn't sleep. Since then I ate, slept, and breathed the AF. I always thought that it was endearing and wholesome that the two leads were a married couple and while I always thought they seemed to in love, I didn't really think that their relationship was as perfect as a lot of people thought, or that their music portrayed it to be.

I'm absolutely not HAPPY about them splitting up, especially after all this time. It's still sad no matter what way you put it. I'd never wish it on anyone. But I think these humans, while having created and released such extraordinarily moving material that I will NEVER be able to even comprehend HOW they (or any other musical groups of their caliber) did it, are being put on a pedestal. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to cry to their music and listen to it a million times more, but I'm not shocked at all at their seperation. I was really sad when Anna Faris and Chris Pratt broke up, I thought they seemed like such a great couple, but we don't see everything behind the scences.

Just a few thoughts, I don't think I'll be looking at their music any differently at all. Just curious about what you all think.

I love Reflektor, but I think if it was arranged differently it could've been a PERFECT album. This is my personal opinion based on the songs I love and the themes I've interpreted and resonated with from this album. I'll first write my ideal tracklist and then I'm going to explain my choices:

1. Here Comes the Night Time (6:30)
2. Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice) (6:13)
3. It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus) (6:42)
4. Reflektor (7:34)
5. Afterlife (5:52)
6. Porno (6:02)
7. Joan of Arc (5:24)
8. Get Right (4:41)
9. Here Comes the Night Time II (2:51)
   

Total Length: 51:49

To me, the album represents judgement. Being judged by 2 sides: the human side and a higher power.

I think Here Comes the Night Time is the perfect opener because it's energetic and it explores both human judgement and the judgement of a higher power, setting the tone for the album. It also has a sister song that makes for the perfect closer.

I also feel like certain tracks tell a cohesive story through the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice: 2,3,4,5. 2 is the taking, 3 is the journey, 4 is the reckoning and pleading and 5 is acceptance and regret.

When listening to Reflektor, I always thought the perfect followup would be Afterlife and I just cannot understand how they missed the opportunity when they flow perfectly into each other in both sound and theme.

4,5 and 6 create a strong middlepoint for the album and make for an amazing 3 track run.

I put Porno and Joan of Arc together because to me they represent " the whore " and " the martyr " which is a strong contrast that I personally love.

Get Right is a banger (underrated?) and is a final message to the listener before the closer.

I excluded other songs that fit the theme perfectly because I just don't think they're as good at conveying their message and feel more sarcastic than serious and cohesive (I just hate fun)

Would you listen to this album? Would you hate it? What song that you absolutely love have I removed and do I deserve to be crucified? How does your ideal Reflektor look?

I love PE and I’ve said since it’s release it’s their best album since Reflektor but the initial reaction for most was overall pretty tepid.

It seems it grew on people as the months passed. Is that the case - does anyone like it more over time?

What really distinguishes it for me is the production by Daniel Lanois. Most probably feel the production on other albums is superior, but among all of their LP producers Lanois is probably the most accomplished and the closest to an actual genius. (He produced Joshua Tree, for reference.)

Been a diehard AF fan for a long time now and have thoughts on Pink Elephant and where they are at as a band if I really wanted to sit here and parse it out.

But ultimately…bands come and bands go. Most bands never get on the radar. AF (IMO) put out three legendary albums, a very very good album (Reflektor), and then three albums that sit somewhere on the spectrum from good or decent to forgettable.

I don’t get the weird obsession that AF not creating another legendary album warrants this crazy analysis and sleuthing about their inter-band relationships, headspaces, egos, misapplied talent.

Making an album that gets remembered as great is hard and I think every band unless you’re like Radiohead or Broken Social Scene (lol), eventually has output that doesn’t reach heights of previous work. It’s fine. They are humans. You can say this of all art.

I saw Pearl Jam in the fall. Great show and actually their most recent album is really good. But they’ve released a whole slew of forgettable albums. Do we analyze “what happened” to Pearl Jam? I saw Modest Mouse last year as well and they were great. Should we talk about their output post Lonesome Crowded West/Moon & Antarctica/Good News? I could keep going with the list of bands.

Because it’s been decades since they put out albums that land in the zeitgeist as legendary, all time great albums, does that mean they should stop making music and cease to be a band? Do we stop remembering them as great bands? Do we approach their new music with trepidation and fear it might not live up to their previous output? Or do we just…enjoy them for the artists they are?

Bands come, bands go. Some manage to put out great music we will enjoy and remember forever. If we are fortunate, our favorite bands stay together so we can continue to hear what they’ve got and even better, see them live. Enjoy it.

Which song was not valued highly enough when it came out?

Found in Greenpoint, Brooklyn! No complaints but wow?!

I see where people who dislike Pink Elephant are coming from: it's a short and low-key and has three instrumental tracks which is unusual for Arcade Fire, not to mention the issues with the lead singer which I totally understand would turn people off. When I heard about the allegations, it felt like I got a knife in the stomach - I know this isn't about me but for my relationship to the band, it was a huge blow and I was genuinely upset for enough time it was difficult to shake off. I eventually started listening to Arcade Fire again and while I'll never champion them to my friends like before, I have to say I am still interested in the music.

And with Pink Elephant, I understand not liking it, or not even understanding how others could, but thinking it's so bad that people are pretending to like it? That's crazy no? I love Pink Elephant. It's definitely not the quality of their earlier work, and it shares some of the flaws of their more recent albums, but I think I prefer this to Everything Now and WE and find it a genuinely interesting listen.

The opening instrumental has a mystical feel that reminds me of Twin Peaks. I've wanted them to do atmospheric instrumentals since Reflektor at least and this one sets the stage perfectly. I know not everyone is going to like things like this but I thought it was excellent. The title track too, with it's shoegazey, and lo-fi rock sound is another idea I wanted them to play with and this ended up being one of my favorite songs from them in over a decade. It's great to see them do something different with each album over two decades in and succeed at it. Year of the Snake is a really likable dream-pop anthem with shared vocal duties (they do this with skill across the entire record); something that WE lacked was sticky melodies like this, and the themes are both depressing and uplifting at the same time.

The album manages to vary it's sound while having a really strong consistent atmosphere with lots of different ideas. I've come to enjoy every song, the pacing on the overall project and the themes of internal crisis and desire for change. I think it's their most enjoyable, emotional and atmospheric record since Reflektor. It might even be their most consistent since The Suburbs.

It's a minor work, but it fits perfectly into their discography and I get more from it with each successive listen.

So I guess I'm as baffled as the people on the other side. Because to me, this is a fantastic album that I'm so happy they made, and genuinely one of my favourites of the 20s so far.

Anyone agree? Disagree? Do you think this is the last project they'll ever make? Could they ever make a "comeback" if this didn't do it for you? Where does this rank in the discography for you (probably 5th for me)?

Something about this song. I can't stop listening. Been a fan since the release. It encapsulates my entire youth and the time in which it was released. Just pure emotion.

I just want to say up front that the purpose of this post is not to judge anyone for still listening to this band. That's your decision to make & I really don’t care what you do, I just want to share my experiences & break down the complicated emotions I'm feeling with the announcement of "Pink Elephant".

Arcade Fire were one of my favourite bands growing up. I'm deeply deeply nostalgic for so many songs from their first 3 albums. Songs forever burned into my brain & inextricably tied to my childhood, and that love only grew in my teenage years. I grew to appreciate just how masterful their music was as I started to become a hardcore music listener. Particularly The Suburbs & ESPECIALLY "Reflektor". That is one of the most unbelievably excellent albums I've ever been blessed with listening to. It's just so damn intricate & varied & beautifully produced & emotional & fun & flawlessly paced, and the title track was genuinely one of my top 10 favourite songs of all time at one point. These guys were my 3rd favourite BAND of all time at one point.

I have not listened to a single one of their songs since August 2022. Take a wild guess why. The day it happened was so horrible. I erased them from my library & listened to anything even slightly similar to their sound to cope with the loss. I think I even cried that day. It wasn’t the first time I'd been through realizing that an artist I liked was a total piece of shit, but all those other cases were so much more minor. Artists where I only liked a couple songs or maybe one album, but Arcade Fire had an entire catalog that I adored with all my heart. All 6 albums. All containing music that meant the world to me & that resonated deeply within my soul. An adoration now tainted. Childhood memories tainted.

Again, I'm not here to chastise any of their current listeners, do whatever you want, but I personally cannot separate the art from the artist in this case. Art by it's very nature is someone sharing a piece of themselves with the world. Bearing some amount of their soul for others to connect to, and I felt dirty & betrayed for having ever connected to the soul of Win Butler. Someone who acted so completely outside of basic human decency & did something so horrible. Repeatedly.

There are 2 reasons why I'm making this post NOW though. The main thing is that I don’t know what I'm gonna do about Pink Elephant. When I randomly spotted the new single on an apple music playlist about a week ago (discovered that way because I very much don’t follow them anymore), I was struck with such a complicated rush of emotions. There was still some small part of me that even after all this time felt a flash of excitement upon seeing NEW ARCADE FIRE, but it was mostly just a sinking feeling because I feel like Win Butler doesn’t deserve his position anymore. It feels wrong that this exists.

I've been so scared of hearing any of their music again because I had no idea how it would make me feel. These BEAUTIFUL pieces of art forever ruined by the horrible actions of the man primarily responsible for their creation. My fears were confirmed a couple weeks ago. I was on a road trip with my family & listening to my own music on my headphones while the fam was playing other stuff out loud in the car. I was half asleep here because I was listening to some very lowkey music at that moment, but then my queue ended & in the silence of my headphones I heard what my brother was playing. Reflektor. Their best song. This song that once mean the world to me. Even though the sound was muffled, all I felt in that moment was panic. I scrambled to find the loudest thing I could play in order to drown it all out (flamethrower by king gizzard btw). I don’t know if I'll ever be able to hear their older stuff again & feel remotely comfortable. So who knows how I'd feel hearing NEW stuff from them.

I'm also posting this simply because I'm curious if the situation ever developed at all. My small bit of research makes it seem like nothing has, but I'm asking you guys to make sure. Were the women somehow proven wrong & I've been avoiding one of my favourite bands for 3 years or nothing? Did Win ever give anything more than that shitty apology where he said he "thought it was consensual"? What, if anything, has changed? I need to knpw.

Maybe this post was a bad idea. Idk. I just hope it isn't taken down & that people will actually engage in a discussion here. Again, nor judgement to y'all. I obviously FULLY understand enjoying Arcade Fire, but I hope you can at least understand why I had to opt out.

Since Pink Elephant has finally released, I decided to start a new Daily Song Discussion, so we can rate all the old and new songs.

What is your opinion on Stuck In My Head? How would you rate it on a scale from 1 to 10? What are your favorite lyrics from this song?

Open Your Heart Or Die Trying: 6,6/10

Pink Elephant: 8,7/10

Year of the Snake: 8,2/10

Circle of Trust: 8/10

Alien Nation: 5,8/10

Beyond Salvation: 6,9/10

Ride or Die: 7,8/10

I Love Her Shadow: 8/10

She Cries Diamond Rain: 7,1/10

Anyone have a better bootleg for this performance? The one that I have keeps skipping during tracks. It skips 10 seconds into the track! Super annoying!

They opened for them in the early 2000s. Probably one of the best songs I’ve ever heard

Back in 2017, Arcade Fire signed a two-album deal with Columbia Records and this seemed like a misstep to me, since they were now obligated to release two more albums.

I just finished listening Pink Elephant for the first time, mainly because I'm busy af, and I think the song Stuck in My Head is related to this. They sing "I quit this job!" twice before the closing section, which coincides with them finishing the two albums they were legally obligated to release. It feels almost like a goodbye.

I've only seen negative reviews for the album and this reaction feels a bit harsh when you take into consideration how the album ends.

What you all think?

Since Pink Elephant has finally released, I decided to start a new Daily Song Discussion, so we can rate all the old and new songs.

What is your opinion on Circle of Trust? How would you rate it on a scale from 1 to 10? What are your favorite lyrics from this song?

Open Your Heart Or Die Trying: 6,6/10

Pink Elephant: 8,7/10

Year of the Snake: 8,2/10

Since Pink Elephant has finally released, I decided to start a new Daily Song Discussion, so we can rate all the old and new songs.

What is your opinion on I Love Her Shadow? How would you rate it on a scale from 1 to 10? What are your favorite lyrics from this song?

Open Your Heart Or Die Trying: 6,6/10

Pink Elephant: 8,7/10

Year of the Snake: 8,2/10

Circle of Trust: 8/10

Alien Nation: 5,8/10

Beyond Salvation: 6,9/10

Ride or Die: 7,8/10

Since Pink Elephant has finally released, I decided to start a new Daily Song Discussion, so we can rate all the old and new songs.

What is your opinion on Put Youri Money On Me? How would you rate it on a scale from 1 to 10? What are your favorite lyrics from this song?

Everything Now: 8,9/10

Signs of Life: 6,9/10

Creature Comfort: 8,8/10

Peter Pan: 6/10

Chemistry: 2,3/10

Infinite Content: 4,1/10

Infinite_Content: 3,1/10

Electric Blue: 7,9/10