Everything Now

Ultimately it’s the album’s sense of humanity, not its innate clever-cleverness, that elevates it to something special.

The album is a fascinating look at the inherent danger of technological oversaturation and the detachment that comes with it.

Like Everything Now‘s subject matter, Arcade Fire gets a bit excessive--yet their fearlessness has resulted in some of the most ambitious music of their career.

Arcade Fire's tightest and tersest album since 2004's Funeral is by far its least ambitious, and the band is cool to riff on this. [No. 145, p.53]

It’s only when Arcade Fire nail down specifics that they stop just adding to the digital churn and give you actual shivers.

More comfortable in their dancing shoes, Arcade Fire have it both ways on Everything Now, zeroing in on our modern malaise while taking inspiration from more concise dance-pop styles.

The result is by far Arcade Fire's most upbeat and easily digestible album to date.

Their ambition is never in doubt though, and Everything Now brings some of their most sky-reaching moments yet.

“Reflektor” lacked killer tunes to go with its propulsive grooves, whereas this album is filled with them--including two separate tracks that recall Abba.

The music glistens and gleams. ... An intoxicating ride. [Sep 2017, p.34]

As cynical as it is whimsical, with their fifth album Arcade Fire have bridged the gap between actuality and aspiration.

Everything Now could stand to be more disciplined, though its looseness is also a reminder of how Arcade Fire leaped past its indie-rock peers by being an honest-to-goodness hot, swinging combo, feeding off each other and the crowd. Building off those chops and that adulation, Win Butler and his mates developed a sound as ornate, ceremonial, and transcendent as a church service.

So view Everything Now as a glass half empty due to its inconsistency or as a glass half full of standout singles. You won’t be able to ignore it though, which, in today’s crowded musical landscape, is triumph in itself.

When it’s good, it’s very, very good--but it’s also flawed. Such is the band’s conviction to capturing their reservations about our on-demand culture, it’s hard not to feel drained by the end.