Arcade Fire Ponder ‘Afterlife’ in Lyric Clip
With their fourth studio album, Reflektor, due out next week, Arcade Fire have released a lyric video for “Afterlife,” a song the band premiered yesterday on the BBC with Zane Lowe.
The funky, high-energy track is in keeping with the style of “Reflektor,” featuring a blend of Haitian rhythms and massive synths. “Can we just work it out? / Scream and shout?” sings Win Butler.
Q&A: Win Butler Reveals Secret Influences Behind Arcade Fire’s ‘Reflektor’
Multi-instrumentalist Will Butler chatted with Lowe about the origins of the track, noting its complicated evolution. “That song started with a Haitian percussion loop we recorded way back at the end of The Suburbs tour,” Butler says. “It kinda built up and built up around there. It went through a bunch of variations and it took a while to get the chorus right.”
Arcade Fire have taken an unconventional approach to promoting their new LP, utilizing mysterious graffiti art and filming a psychedelic half-hour TV special, which aired after their performance on Saturday Night Live. Last Friday, the band played the first of two costume party gigs (as the Reflektors) at a Brooklyn warehouse, teasing the crowd with pranks and donning sparkly outfits.