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We (Arcade Fire album)

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We
Standard cover
Studio album by
Arcade Fire
ReleasedMay 6, 2022 (2022-05-06)
Recorded2020–2021
StudioRAK Studios (London)
Wack Formula (London)
The Crow's Nest Studios (London)
Boombox Studios (New Orleans, LA)
Marigny Recording Studio (New Orleans, LA)
Dockside Studio (Maurice, LA)
Sonic Ranch Studios (Tornilo, TX)
Genre
Length40:18
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

We (stylised in uppercase) is the sixth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released through Columbia Records on May 6, 2022. Produced by Nigel Godrich and band members Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, it was recorded in studios in New Orleans; in El Paso, Texas; and on Mount Desert Island in Maine. The album takes its name from the Russian dystopian novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin.[1] It was the final album by Arcade Fire to feature multi-instrumentalist Will Butler, who departed the band in 2022.

Preceded by the singles "The Lightning I, II" and "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)", We received generally positive reviews from music critics and achieved moderate commercial success. It debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 32,000 album-equivalent units (26,500 of which were sales of the full album) in its first week of release,[2] and went to number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Portugal. The album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.[3]

Background

In April 2020, Win Butler posted a letter to his Instagram account indicating that work on a new Arcade Fire album had commenced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the writing continued during the lockdown measures. He 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.[4] Later that month, Butler shared some snippets of the new material.[5]

On October 21, 2020, Butler commented about Arcade Fire's sixth album during an interview for the Broken Record podcast.[6] The band had been writing for a year before the COVID-19 lockdown, and, during the lockdown, Butler kept working and wrote "two or three" new albums.[7] Arcade Fire planned to record the album in Texas "during the election".[8]

According to the producer, Nigel Godrich, We was recorded "in the middle of nowhere" outside El Paso, Texas, during the COVID-19 lockdown. He said: "[We] basically lived in a cult for a couple of months. Nobody came in and nobody came out, people delivered the shopping, that sort of vibe just so we could be able to do it. It was a method to make it possible."[9]

Composition

Musically, We shifts "smoothly and deliberately" between "gentle" folk rock and "grooving" dance-pop.[10]

The track “Unconditional II (Race and Religion)” features backing vocals by Peter Gabriel.[11]

Promotion and release

On April 14, 2021, Arcade Fire released a 45-minute instrumental piece entitled "Memories of the Age of Anxiety" on the meditation app Headspace.[12]

In March 2022, fans received postcards marked with the band's logo. The postcards included the note "WE missed you" above musical notations on the front, and an image of an eye with the word "Unsubscribe" written below it on the back. Those same images began to appear in signage around London and on the band's social media pages, indicating the album's impending release.[13]

On March 14, the band announced that a new song titled "The Lightning I, II" would be released on March 17.[14] In concert with the release of the single, it was announced that the album would be titled We and released on May 6, 2022, and that it was produced by Nigel Godrich, Win Butler, and Régine Chassagne, and recorded in studios in New Orleans; in El Paso, Texas; and on Mount Desert Island in Maine. The cover artwork featuring a photograph by French artist JR with airbrush color tinting by Terry Pastor was also revealed.[15] Later in March, Will Butler announced he had amicably left the band after the new album was completed in late 2021.[16]

The day after the release of the album, the band appeared on Saturday Night Live. They played "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)" and "The Lightning I, II", as well as "End of The Empire II" over the closing credits.

The album was released in Dolby Atmos.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[17]
Metacritic73/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]
The Daily Telegraph[20]
Exclaim!7/10[10]
The Guardian[1]
The Independent[21]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[22]
NME[23]
Paste8.3/10[24]
Pitchfork7.0/10[25]
Slant Magazine[26]

We was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18] It was longlisted for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize[27] and nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.[3]

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, marking Arcade Fire's fifth top-ten debut on the chart.[2] During its first week of release in the US, it earned 32,000 album-equivalent units, of which 26,500 came from sales of the full album, 5,000 came from 6.43 million on-demand official streams of songs from the album, and 500 came from 5,000 paid downloads of individual tracks from the album.[2]

Track listing

All tracks written by Win Butler and Régine Chassagne; additional writing on "Unconditional II (Race and Religion)" by Will Butler.

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)" (featuring Peter Gabriel)4:20
10."WE"3:51
Total length:40:18
CD/vinyl track listing
"I"
No.TitleLength
1."Age of Anxiety I"5:27
2."Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)" (ends with "Prelude")7:05
3."End of the Empire I–IV
  • I. Last Dance
  • II. Last Round
  • III. Leave the Light On
  • IV. Sagittarius A*"
9:17
"WE"
No.TitleLength
4."The Lightning I, II"5:36
5."Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)"4:33
6."Unconditional II (Race and Religion)" (featuring Peter Gabriel)4:20
7."WE"3:51
Total length:40:09

Personnel

Adapted from the full album credits, with track numbers corresponding to the digital release.[28]

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (May 5, 2022). "Arcade Fire: We review – goodbye cod reggae, hello stadium singalongs". The Guardian. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Caulfield, Keith (May 15, 2022). "Bad Bunny's 'Un Verano Sin Ti' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Lee, Taila (November 15, 2022). "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". Grammys.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "Arcade Fire Say "Work Is Flowing" on New Album". Pitchfork. April 14, 2020.
  5. ^ "Win Butler shares more snippets of a new Arcade Fire song". NME. April 30, 2020.
  6. ^ "All Episodes". Broken Record.
  7. ^ "Win Butler gives update on Arcade Fire album: "I think you'll be surprised"". NME. October 22, 2020.
  8. ^ "Win Butler hints that Arcade Fire have written "two or three" albums in quarantine". October 21, 2020.
  9. ^ Doherty, Niall (July 27, 2022). "Lost in music: Nigel Godrich". The New Cue. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Bobkin, Matt (May 4, 2022). "Arcade Fire Step Off Their Pedestal for 'WE'". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  11. ^ Gordon, Jeremy (April 22, 2022). "How Arcade Fire Found a Way Back". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  12. ^ Minsker, Evan (April 15, 2021). "Arcade Fire Share 45-Minute Song for Headspace Meditation App". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  13. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (March 3, 2022). "Arcade Fire Fans Receive Teaser Postcards With Music Notation". Stereogum. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  14. ^ Bloom, Madison (March 14, 2022). "Arcade Fire Releasing 'The Lightning I, II,' First New Song in 5 Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Arcade Fire Announce New Album WE, Share Video for New Song "The Lightning I, II"". Pitchfork. March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  16. ^ Corcoran, Nina (March 19, 2022). "Will Butler Says He's Left Arcade Fire". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  17. ^ "WE by Arcade Fire reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "WE by Arcade Fire Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  19. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. (May 6, 2022). "WE - Arcade Fire | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  20. ^ McCormick, Neil (May 5, 2022). "Arcade Fire, WE: big ideas, grand emotions, and right up there with their best". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  21. ^ Brown, Helen (May 5, 2022). "Arcade Fire review, WE: Jittery isolation and modern love are explored in this album of two halves". The Independent. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Beaumont, Mark (May 6, 2022). "Arcade Fire – 'WE' review: Canadian collective's most focussed record since 'The Suburbs'". NME. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  24. ^ Sharples, Grant (May 4, 2022). "On WE, Arcade Fire Recapture Their Former Glory". Paste. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  25. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (May 4, 2022). "Arcade Fire: WE". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  26. ^ Winograd, Jeremy (May 5, 2022). "Arcade Fire WE Review: A Half-Convincing Return to Sweeping Seriousness". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  27. ^ Allie Gregory, "Here's the 2022 Polaris Music Prize Long List". Exclaim!, June 14, 2022.
  28. ^ Minsker, Evan (May 6, 2022). "Arcade Fire Release New Album WE: Listen and Read the Full Credits". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
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  52. ^ "Arcade Fire Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  53. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2022" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
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