Reflektor – Arcade Fire ★★★½

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2013	Reflektor	Arcade Fire	★★★½	73	Rock	Art Rock	Alternative Dance

Compared to the band’s first three records, Reflektor was the first time you could say Arcade Fire missed the mark. 

Reflektor was a clear shift in direction for the band. Produced by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, instead of the band’s signature folky chamber pop, anthemic choruses and quaint stories, we get long, drawn out tracks with Bowie-esque 1980s swagger, accents of synths and computerized percussion. After a decade making music, some change musically and thematically is expected, but the bloated double album is in no way perfect. 

On Disk 1 “Flashbulb Eyes,” “We Exist,” “You Already Know,” and “Joan of Arc” aren’t exactly bad, but feel a little clunky and awkward, and aren’t up to the standard the band set for themselves prior. The songs are missing some heart, as the band decided to create these new characters in an attempt to distance themselves from their more innocent, personal sounding music of the past. The lyrics are bland and repetitive, and the musical performance is flat.

But Disc 2 — at 6 songs and a little over 39 minutes in length —  is really powerful, and operates at the highly artistic and emotional level the band’s known for, even if stylistically it sounds different. 

“Awful Sound” has the dramatic highs and lows of a classic Arcade Fire track. “It’s Never Over” feels like a prog rock song with a tremendously tender call and response section near the end that’s really moving. While talking about death, “Afterlife” has a freeing, child-like playfulness to it, a hallmark of the band’s earlier records. 

The benefits of bringing Murphy in to produce are also on full display on “Porno” and  “Supersymmetry.” “Porno” uses this sleazy, heavy handed synth and bass melody during the verses that contrast with soft strings and haunting, echoing, electronics later on. “Supersymmetry” blends space-aged computer loops and cinematic strings to create a lovely closing note for the album. 

If you add in the wonderful, disco influenced title track featuring David Bowie on backing vocals, and the celebratory rock tracks “Normal Person” and “Here Comes the Night” from Disc 1, you would have a fabulous hour of tracks that spans different styles of rock music.  Ultimately though, the band bit off a little more than they could chew, falling in love with the idea of a showy, double-disc concept album that would have been better off in a conventional, easy to consume package.