Friday, 15 April 2016

Arcade Fire other tracks

The Arcade Fire tracks which I haven't listened to reviewed and rated. These are only songs done by Arcade Fire alone, so the Her soundtrack isn't included. Tracks on the albums but not by Arcade Fire aren't included. Additionally, I'm not listing songs which are just earlier versions of Arcade Fire songs discussed in my album reviews, demos and rarities, and the Very Arcade Xmas album isn't included since that was evidently just a bit of a drunken joke.

Abraham's Daughter: 7/10 the end credits song for The Hunger Games. This one is overly restrained and a bit random, but there's something appropriately stirring and melancholy about it.

Apocrypha: 7/10 a bit distant and quiet, but this one has a certain charm and is subtle in an intelligent way.

Brazil: 8/10 a rather sweet cover song, although weaker than most of the main tracks on Funeral.

Broken Window: 7/10 this has some annoying repetition and takes a little while to get going. Once it does, it's full steam ahead to Arcade Fire excellence.

Cold Wind: 7/10 this song from Six Feet Under doesn't always say what it's about, but it's typically well-made and has a terrific hook.

Crucified Again: 8/10 a strong showcase of powerful subtlety and some of Arcade Fire's most interesting lyrics.

Culture War: 8/10 this bonus track on The Suburbs is simplistic in some ways but highly catchy and has the same melancholy, poignant vibe as the rest of the album.

Get Right: 8/10 sparse but surprisingly effective. The instrumental section is terrific.

Headlights Look Like Diamonds: 6/10 a sign of a developing artist: many of the powerful themes featured in later Arcade Fire tracks and one of their unique instrumentals, but done with less skill than their later material. The outro is cool though.

I Give You Power: 5/10 this bizarre recent single is apparently a political song about Donald Trump, but with such repetitive and bland lyrics, as well as an overly samey beat, it's difficult to determine exactly what it's about. Some good organ sections, a solid intro and Arcade Fire's typical power save this from being the disaster many internet commentators say it was though.

I'm Sleeping in a Submarine: 7/10 pretty random and it feels like a nursery rhyme for kids at times, but it's fun and pleasingly light.

Lenin: 7/10 despite confused lyrics, this is more polished than many of the early tracks and Arcade Fire seem to have at least partially discovered their sound by this point.

My Heart is an Apple: 6/10 I really don't know about this one. There are some nice peaks but lyrically it's flat and basically it's just some weird song about apples.

Old Flame: 8/10 a bit disjointed in many ways, but this dreamlike, touching song has many hints of the dazzling heights Arcade Fire would later reach.

Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son: 7/10 it will be very difficult to understand unless you speak French since Regine Chassagne sung this one entirely in French. While only a cover song released in a joint single with LCD Soundsystem (Who contributed a song of their own), this is actually a nice and thoroughly enjoyable tune even if you can't understand the lyrics.      

Soft Power: 8/10 despite being slightly pretentious, this song, which is less experimental than much of Reflektor, is pretty darn awesome.

Speaking in Tongues: 7/10 this one has a good intro and sustains a good beat throughout, but suffers from being too abstract.

Surf City Eastern Bloc: 5/10 this badly recorded early track, which was a B-side to No Cars Go, is somewhat saved by some stirring harmonies and instrumental sections in the latter half of the song. It's still a mystery they used this as the B-side though.  

The Woodlands National Anthem: 8/10 this feels like Neighbourhood #5, and boasting a distinctive, emotionally stirring dreamlike quality this would have been a good addition to Funeral.

This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody): 6/10 these obscure early Arcade Fire songs certainly aren't obscure gems. This one's alright though, and it has a nice baseline.

Vampire/Forest Fire:7/10 while it rambles on about vampires, forests, miners, gasoline and house construction is a somewhat annoying way, it's still interesting and rather nice, and also boasts a terrific outro.

Women of a Certain Age: 8/10 like the rest of Reflektor, it's experimental nature will alienate some but for patient listeners it will be rewarding.

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