Arcade Fire review – maximalist wonder that roots you in the here and now

Koko, London Returning with strong new material after five years away, the Canadian indie rockers are a joyous throng of irrepressible humanity * Arcade Fire: ‘America is rotten, but there are beautiful things about it’ Arcade Fire’s USP is a kind of neurotic ecstasy: everything’s terrible (especially the internet), let’s dance. Their muscular opening number, Age of Anxiety I, is proof of concept. Win Butler plunges into the crowd while Régine Chassagne rakes the room with handheld green lasers and merrily chants: “Anxiety!” Above them, on the backcloth, a giant red eye surveys the action. It’s a reference to Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, the 1920s dystopian novel that inspired the title and theme of their new album. Arcade Fire have been banging the technosceptic drum for years (their 2007 song Black Mirror predated the TV show) but if they talk a lot about the vital importance of human connection in a digital era, then they also walk the walk. The stage is a throng of bodies jumping from instrument to instrument. There’s three of everything – guitars, keyboards, drum kits – not to mention the occasional double bass, accordion and keytar. It’s like the fully expanded Talking Heads lineup at the end of Stop Making Sense, but for the full two hours, and louder. Continue reading...
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