New Music from Arcade Fire
After several months of anticipation, Arcade Fire has shared a new song and video for “Cars and Phones”.
Speculation and Teasers
The speculation began in March when the Canadian indie rock group made several significant updates to its social media profiles. Notably, on Instagram, they removed all previous posts and replaced them with a new image, updated biography, and links to a website that grabbed the attention of fans.
It’s worth mentioning that the group had previously deleted all its Instagram posts and changed their page’s artwork in 2022 to prepare for the announcement of their sixth studio album, “We”.
More recently, their biography featured a cryptic message: “This is the year of the snake, so let your heart break,” while their profile picture transformed to show the word “trust” written in a circular pattern.
On April 4, speculation was confirmed with a teaser in which the group shared a video revealing an enigmatic “trust” visible behind the band, accompanied by a signature for the announcement of the “circle of trust” fan app – set to launch at 5 PM CST (11 PM UK time).
According to participants who engaged on social media, the new track premiered in a podcast. While introducing the song, they mentioned that it took 25 years to create, stemming from a demo made in 2001, predating the band’s formation.
Mixed Reception
The reception appears to be mixed, with some longtime fans expressing disappointment over the reimagined track. One fan stated on Reddit, “I liked the demo, but I was not particularly impressed by this.” Another fan asked, “Am I allowed to say that this is not enthusiastic? I’m a big fan, but I think this is a bit weak.” Conversely, others chimed in that “no one removes the demo version, and if anything, this highlights an underrated deep track of Arcade Fire.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R60RLP2IUU
In addition to the song, many fans are wary of the potential album title – referring to the “Circle of Trust,” as their app – especially in light of accusations against frontman Win Butler regarding sexual misconduct. In 2022, four individuals accused the singer of inappropriate behavior, which also led to Butler exiting the “We” tour prematurely.
Butler responded to these accusations, expressing regret for anyone he may have offended, while maintaining that “all these relationships were consensual.”
“Does Arcade Fire name their fan club ‘Circle of Trust’ after all these allegations against Win Butler during the last album cycle?” a user wrote on X/Twitter. “Sorry, you guys just can’t curate history and troll people now?”
In other news, at the start of the year, frontman Butler collaborated with David Byrne and St. Vincent to perform David Bowie’s “Heroes” during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. The group also announced a special show at High Water in South Carolina scheduled for next month.
Additionally, last spring, Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara announced several shows to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their 2004 album, Funeral.
https://www.nme.com/news/music/arcade-fire-share-video-for-new-song-cars-and-telephones-3852150?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=arcade-fire-share-video-for-new-song-cars-and-telephones
