ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Arcade Fire's Reflektor turns to the dance floor

ARCADE FIRE: Reflektor (Sonovox) 

Verdict: Canadian rockers turn to dance
Rating:

Enjoyed in equal measure by indie-loving teens and fans of heritage rock acts like Fleetwood Mac and Bruce Springsteen, Montreal seven-piece Arcade Fire have spent the past decade stealthily becoming one of the biggest groups in the world.
Now, with an unexpected sidestep, the Canadians are using this fourth album to charge towards the dance floor.
Working alongside New York DJ and musician James Murphy, they have come up with a rip-roaring double album that mixes electronic beats, carnival rhythms and full-tilt rock ‘n’ roll.

Arcade Fire's Reflektor should push the band even further into the upper echelons of rock's big league

Arcade Fire made Reflektor in total secrecy. The band’s central husband and wife team, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, spent some time in Haiti (Chassagne’s parents were Haitian émigrés) and the trip seems to have given them a fresh perspective.
The sprawling outfit have always played unorthodox instruments, with songs built around shimmering violins, accordions and xylophones.
Now, however, the even more exotic sounds of Jamaican steel drums (on Here Comes The Night Time) and Haitian percussion (on After Life) have been added to the palate.
The title track, which opens CD1 amid a flurry of bongos and shuffling rhythms, announces the more danceable mood. With Butler’s edgy male vocals accompanied by his wife’s softer tones, the pair are joined by guest David Bowie, who slips into his Young Americans guise on a soulful cameo.
The influence of The Thin White Duke is evident elsewhere, too. We Exist is a languid exercise in 1980s pop that recalls Bowie’s Let’s Dance, all silky harmonies and driving rhythms. It’s Never Over, with its nagging guitar and layered vocals, is a throwback to the same era.
But, with Coldplay producer Markus Dravs also contributing, the band have not abandoned their indie-rock roots entirely. Joan Of Arc is a glam-influenced stomp featuring plenty of Muse-like melodrama, while You Already Know, a track introduced by the voice of Jonathan Ross, is a more familiar folk-rock workout, albeit one with a potent rhythmic bounce. 



Perhaps inevitably, there is a dip in quality on the second disc, as the group explore more experimental terrain. With its church organ and ambient sounds, the 11-minute-long Supersymmetry is a slow, moody finale that ensures the album ends with a whimper rather than a bang.
But, with its complex arrangements allied to the band’s most accessible, poppy melodies to date, Reflektor should push Arcade Fire even further into the upper echelons of rock’s big league.