Earlier this week, Arcade Fire announced that their new single "The Lightning I, II" would be arriving today. Turns out they weren't lying, but what they didn't mention was that their new album WE is also on the way, arriving May 6 on Columbia.
The seven-track, 40-minute record is a concept album of sorts, divided into two sides that represent "the fear and loneliness of isolation" and "the joy and power of reconnection" respectively.
The album's opening two tracks, "Age of Anxiety I" and "Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)" — the latter of which the band recently played live — are said to be inspired by the Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem "I Am Waiting."
Peter Gabriel features on side two, sharing vocal duties with Régine Chassagne on "Unconditional II (Race and Religion)." Arcade Fire have clearly not gotten any more subtle.
The album's artwork features a photograph by the artist JR with airbrush colouring by Terry Pastor, who coloured David Bowie's Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust.
Alongside the album announcement, Arcade Fire also shared a note about WE:
My grandmother read me a book when I was a little kid that had the word "WE" stamped into its cover in broken 1920s gold leaf
As my eyes grew heavy, in the bedroom my father slept in as a child, I wondered…
What is "WE"? Who are "WE"?
There are questions that can rattle around in your head for a lifetime…
but once in a while the centuries grind to a halt
and WE are given the precious time
to ask again in our child-like inner voice
What is "WE"?
Hiding in the shadow of Carl Jung
is the WE that holds each other back
and tears each other down
the WE that whispers secrets
and complains about paradise
even heaven is too cold…
But also it is the "ONE" of Marley, the Buddha and Abraham
it's the lightning strike
of our magic mutual creation
it's the root
WE share
made of the same dust as the stars
WE pray to
It's the dream of Martin Luther King Jr.
and the iron of the nail on the church door of his namesake
it's the innocence and the mistake
the universal flaw and the perfect imperfection
The hipsters called it jazz
The hippies called it love
And we call it WE
Check out the tracklist for WE and the video for "The Lightning I, II" below.
WE:
'I'
1. Age of Anxiety I
2. Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)
3. End of the Empire I-IV
'WE'
4. The Lightning I, II
5. Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)
6. Unconditional II (Race and Religion)
7. WE
Pre-order WE.
The seven-track, 40-minute record is a concept album of sorts, divided into two sides that represent "the fear and loneliness of isolation" and "the joy and power of reconnection" respectively.
The album's opening two tracks, "Age of Anxiety I" and "Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)" — the latter of which the band recently played live — are said to be inspired by the Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem "I Am Waiting."
Peter Gabriel features on side two, sharing vocal duties with Régine Chassagne on "Unconditional II (Race and Religion)." Arcade Fire have clearly not gotten any more subtle.
The album's artwork features a photograph by the artist JR with airbrush colouring by Terry Pastor, who coloured David Bowie's Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust.
Alongside the album announcement, Arcade Fire also shared a note about WE:
My grandmother read me a book when I was a little kid that had the word "WE" stamped into its cover in broken 1920s gold leaf
As my eyes grew heavy, in the bedroom my father slept in as a child, I wondered…
What is "WE"? Who are "WE"?
There are questions that can rattle around in your head for a lifetime…
but once in a while the centuries grind to a halt
and WE are given the precious time
to ask again in our child-like inner voice
What is "WE"?
Hiding in the shadow of Carl Jung
is the WE that holds each other back
and tears each other down
the WE that whispers secrets
and complains about paradise
even heaven is too cold…
But also it is the "ONE" of Marley, the Buddha and Abraham
it's the lightning strike
of our magic mutual creation
it's the root
WE share
made of the same dust as the stars
WE pray to
It's the dream of Martin Luther King Jr.
and the iron of the nail on the church door of his namesake
it's the innocence and the mistake
the universal flaw and the perfect imperfection
The hipsters called it jazz
The hippies called it love
And we call it WE
Check out the tracklist for WE and the video for "The Lightning I, II" below.
WE:
'I'
1. Age of Anxiety I
2. Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)
3. End of the Empire I-IV
'WE'
4. The Lightning I, II
5. Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)
6. Unconditional II (Race and Religion)
7. WE
Pre-order WE.
