We (Arcade Fire album)

We (stylized in all caps) is the upcoming sixth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, to be released on May 6, 2022, through Columbia Records. Produced by Nigel Godrich and band members Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, the album was recorded in New Orleans, El Paso, Texas, and Mount Desert Island in Maine, and preceded by the singles "The Lightning I, II" and "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)". The album takes its name from the Russian dystopian novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

We
Standard cover
Studio album by
Arcade Fire
ReleasedMay 6, 2022 (2022-05-06)
Recorded2020–2021
Genre
Length
  • 40:14 (digital version)
  • 39:44 (physical version)
LabelColumbia
Producer
Arcade Fire chronology
Her (Original Score)
(2021)		 We
(2022)
Singles from We
  1. "The Lightning I, II"
    Released: March 17, 2022
  2. "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)"
    Released: April 27, 2022

It is the final album to feature multi-instrumentalist Will Butler, who departed the band in 2021 shortly after its completion.

Background

In April 2020, Win Butler posted a letter to his Instagram account, indicating that work on a new record had commenced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and that the writing continued under lockdown measures. Butler noted that he had written a song entitled "Age of Anxiety" before the pandemic and that many of the themes he had begun to explore felt appropriate given the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. [1]

On October 21, 2020, Butler was interviewed for the Broken Record podcast, where he commented about Arcade Fire's sixth album.[2] The band had been writing for a year before the COVID-19 lockdown. During lockdown, Butler kept working and wrote "two or three albums".[3] In April 2020, Butler shared some snippets of new material in the social networks.[4] Arcade Fire had plans to record the album in Texas "during the election".[5]

On April 14, 2021, the band released a 45-minute instrumental piece, entitled "Memories of the Age of Anxiety" on the meditation application Headspace.[6]

In March 2022, fans received postcards marked with the band's logo; the postcards included the note "We missed you," musical notations, as well as an image of an eye with the word "Unsubscribe" written below. Those same images began to appear in signage around London as well as on the band's social media pages, indicating the earliest signs of a new album.[7] On March 14, the band announced a new song titled "The Lightning I, II" would be released on March 17.[8]

On March 17, 2022, Arcade Fire announced that the album is titled We and will be released on May 6, 2022. It is produced by Nigel Godrich, Win Butler, and Régine Chassagne. The album was recorded in New Orleans, El Paso, Texas, and Mount Desert Island in Maine. The cover artwork features a photograph by French artist JR with airbrush color tinting by Terry Pastor.[9] Later that week, Will Butler announced he had amicably left the band in 2021 shortly after the completion of We.[10]

Composition

Musically, WE shifts "smoothy and deliberately" between "gentle" folk rock and "grooving" dance-pop.[11]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10[12]
Metacritic76/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim!7/10[11]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[14]
Paste8.3/10[15]

WE has been met with generally positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, it currently holds a score of 75 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews" based on ten reviews.[13]

Track listing
Digital track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Age of Anxiety I"5:27
2."Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)"6:41
3."Prelude"0:30
4."End of the Empire I–III"5:23
5."End of the Empire IV (Sagittarius A*)"3:54
6."The Lightning I"3:01
7."The Lightning II"2:34
8."Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)"4:33
9."Unconditional II (Race and Religion)"4:20
10."We"3:51
Total length:40:14
CD/vinyl track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Age of Anxiety I"5:27
2."Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)"6:41
3."End of the Empire I–IV
  • I. Last Dance
  • II. Last Round
  • III. Leave the Light On
  • IV. Sagittarius A*"
9:17
4."The Lightning I, II"5:35
5."Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)"4:33
6."Unconditional II (Race and Religion)"4:20
7."We"3:51
Total length:39:44

References
  1. "Arcade Fire Say "Work Is Flowing" on New Album". April 14, 2020.
  2. "All Episodes". Broken Record.
  3. "Win Butler gives update on Arcade Fire album: "I think you'll be surprised"". October 22, 2020.
  4. "Win Butler shares more snippets of a new Arcade Fire song". April 30, 2020.
  5. "Win Butler hints that Arcade Fire have written "two or three" albums in quarantine". October 21, 2020.
  6. Minsker, Evan (April 15, 2021). "Arcade Fire Share 45-Minute Song for Headspace Meditation App". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  7. Brodsky, Rachel (March 3, 2022). "Arcade Fire Fans Receive Teaser Postcards With Music Notation". Stereogum. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  8. Bloom, Madison (March 14, 2022). "Arcade Fire Releasing 'The Lightning I, II,' First New Song in 5 Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  9. "Arcade Fire Announce New Album WE, Share Video for New Song "The Lightning I, II"". Pitchfork. March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  10. Corcoran, Nina (March 19, 2022). "Will Butler Says He's Left Arcade Fire". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  11. Bobkin, Matt (May 4, 2022). "Arcade Fire Step Off Their Pedestal for 'WE'". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  12. "WE by Arcade Fire reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  13. "WE by Arcade Fire Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  14. Hamilton-Peach, Christopher (April 28, 2022). "All the facets of Arcade Fire's 20-year career synchronise on WE". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  15. Sharples, Grant (May 4, 2022). "On WE, Arcade Fire Recapture Their Former Glory". Paste. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
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