Album Review: Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Even after the brilliant title track announced a new direction for Arcade Fire, it was a brave fool who'd predict what the rest of Reflektor would bring. For all the secrecy, the viral campaigns, the 22-minute, star-studded film clip (for Here Comes The Night Time – one of the record's best tracks), though, the question remains. Is Reflektor worth the hype?

The short answer is yes. Just.

It's nothing like Arcade Fire have released before, but it creates a need for future listens more than any of the band's previous albums. Gone is the reliance on Win Butler's lyrics; instead his voice is caught in the many layers that create a cacophony of sound for much of the record.

Inspired by their time in Haiti, the rara music indigenous to the Caribbean is all over Volume I. Basslines reminiscent of Michael Jackson (We Exist) and The Clash (You Already Know) drive the disc, with steel drums and maracas providing a booty-shaking backbone.

The second disc is more reflective and, despite the continued layering of sound, less dance-able. Here Comes The Night II is the antithesis of its namesake, and It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus) carries a dark, Depeche Mode-y vibe with it.

Months of work have gone into the track structure of Reflektor, and it shows. Where the first disc is carried by rhythm, the second is pushed along in a slow-burning, hypnotic state, culminating in the album's apex, Afterlife.

The layers will work themselves out over future listens, but there's plenty on Reflektor to warrant further spins.