Arcade Fire are a group synonymous with overblown viral marketing campaigns to promote their new records. Reflektor came with the band declaring themselves ‘The Reflektors’, which led to a fake website, a fake album and secret shows. However, they’ve gone one step further for Everything Now and created a fake global media and e-commerce platform called ‘Everything Now’, this has included a satirical review of the record in question. The aim of the whole concept was to bolster some of the record’s themes of infinite consumerism in media.

Frontman Win Butler recently explained it in more detail, "There’s sort of an everything-nowness to life. I feel like almost every event and everything that happens surrounds you on all sides. Some of it is fake and some of it is real and some of it is trying to sell you something and some of it is profound. Every moment of everything refracts into a thousand different things. It’s trying to capture some of the experiences of being alive now in all its flaws and all its glory.”

As unique as this conception may be, it doesn’t hide from the fact that it’s the band’s worst record to date. Produced by the band, Thomas Bangalter and Steve Mackey, with co-production by Markus Dravs, it was recorded at Boombox Studios in New Orleans, Sonovox Studios in Montreal, and Gang Recording Studio in Paris.

The lead single and title track is one of the finer moments with its ridiculously catchy melody and Abba-infused harmonies; it has also even managed to bring woodwinds back into fashion. ‘Signs of Life’ is another single taken from the LP and is one of the worst the band have ever released, with its overbearing lyrics and repetition that doesn’t really go anywhere.

‘Creature Comfort’, meanwhile, is a brilliant track thanks to its dark underbelly of solid propulsive drumming and synthesizers, these act as a good backdrop to the lyrics which talk about needing to conform. ‘Peter Pan’ is then pretty much unbearable, while the reggae-infused ‘Chemistry’ is much of the same. The two-handed assault of ‘Infinite Content’ and ‘Infinite_Content’ come along and weirdly exhibit the same song presented in contrasting styles; the first a thrash anthem, the second a chilled out number.

‘Electric Blue’ thankfully gets things back on track as Régine Chassagne’s falsetto takes centre stage under the delicate setting of a mellow disco anthem. ‘Good God Damn’ and ‘Put Your Money on Me’ rarely come above their filler status before Butler cries “If you can’t see the forest for the trees/just burn it all down,” in the climax of synth-pop closer ‘We Don’t Deserve Love’ to cap off what is an average album.

One of the fake reviews said it would be compared unfavourably to Funeral and The Suburbs. Other than three great tracks, this is true.

Paul Hill

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