Reflektor is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on October 28, 2013 on Merge. A double album, Reflektor was produced by former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, regular Arcade Fire producer Markus Dravs and the band itself. Influenced by Haitian rara music, the 1959 film Black Orpheus and Søren Kierkegaard's essay, "The Present Age", Reflektor's release was preceded by a guerrilla marketing campaign inspired by veve drawings, and the release of a limited edition single, "Reflektor", credited to the fictional band, The Reflektors, on September 9, 2013. Read more about Reflektor on Wikipedia... Read more on Last.fm.
Hype influences everyone from fans to journalists. If you don’t believe me, cross examine the four biggest reviews for this album (Rolling Stone, Blender, SPIN, Billboard). Note the common thread you’ll see in the descriptions, the ass kissing Win Butler gets for seemingly no reason other than that he exists, the pre-assumed importance of the record prior to review, etc. We’re dealing with a band that its hip to like.
The issue is that we’re not dealing with a particularly original band. Arcade Fire has always been a step up from shoe gazer melodrama. Neon Bible showed signs of life. The Suburbs was a bloated art piece. THIS is a band trying to cop LCD Sound Systems trippy, atmospheric vibe, and pretend like they invented it. Sorry to say, this isn’t a good record. It’s a meandering, pretentious rip off of late perioid Bowie, James Murphy and, ick, The Velvet Underground.
Please, for the love of God, stop heaping praise on mediocre indie music.