Reflektor has range. This album meshes Arcade Fire's normally separate endeavors of Haitian funk, punk-rock, dance-hall, electronica, and anthem. "Flashbulb Eyes" is a particularly interesting musical experiment in this vein, although it doesn't make for a terribly compelling song.Also, take "It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus)," the complement to "Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice)." This song is a dark, disco dream. The sense of tragedy comes over even without the help of the Greek myth forming its narrative. That driving bass-line moving under Butler's pleading falsetto--"wait until it's over, wait until it's through"--brings the funk and also tells of their inevitable fate. We can hear the slight dissonance in the musical and mythical disconnect that we know they won't overcome. "It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus)" definitely outstrips its counterpart, whose lackluster lyrics and uninteresting structure make it rather forgettable in itself. However, the two together make for Arcade Fire's most ambitious and admirable foray into the literary realm.
Reflektor is unlike any other Arcade Fire record: musically and narratively, it has many branches and glances in multiple directions. The album title itself tells us that Reflektor is dealing in greater abstraction than Arcade Fire has ever done before. What could have felt sprawling generally feels tight, but not limited likeThe Suburbs orFuneral could be. Nevertheless, not every song lives up to this admittedly immense theme.The chorus of "Joan of Arc" falls flat, not resting on any one mode, melody, or motivation long enough for us to get it. And that cheesy opening of "You Already Know" strikes me as particularly reminiscent of B-52's "Rock Lobster" when it was probably supposed to be more like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"--the rest of the song doesn't forgive or warrant either.
However, the 11-minute, meditative "Supersymmetry" is the perfect closer for this ambitious album, bringing all the outlandishness back down to earth, like the sunrise after a night of dancing.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E0fVfectDo]
