Arcade Fire - Reflektor Track-By-Track Review

Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice) Comprising soft and slow guitar, vox and synths over an erratic beat of drums and percussion, €˜Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice)€™ is already full of contrast, but that€™s before the Kid A keys come in, and the listener feels like they€™re being dragged into a dub record. We then get this climax of noise and then back into that drum beat. This song has received a bad rap from musical press as a bit of a dud, but I feel that€™s kind of unfair. Yes this song has its moments where it€™s not too great, such as the last 10 seconds, or the often out of place keys, but overall this isn€™t a bad track, and I don€™t feel it deserves the bad press.

rating: 4

It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus) In complete opposition to its other-half, €˜It€™s Never Over (Oh Orpheus)€™ is glorious. It€™s easy to see why. The most electro-feeling track on the album, the song opens like a dance record, before being accompanied by more fuzz guitar. The group vocals would fit in well on €˜Keep the Car Running€™, and as one could guess, the lyrics reflect the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, with Win and Regine€™s vocals complimenting each other excellently. The two tracks act like the equivalent to €˜The Sprawl€™ songs on The Suburbs, however, they feel much more in keeping with the rest of the album, as well as complimenting it well.

rating: 4.5

Porno With a name like €˜Porno€™ and the beat the song opens with, you€™d be mistaken for thinking it was a hip-hop song. In fact, the song has a total absence of guitars, instead replaced with electronic bass, drums and keys. There€™s something dark and seductive about the track as well, and Win Butler€™s lyrics leads the listener on, not necessarily in an explicit way, but just enough for the listener to assume more than is being said in the song. It€™s an otherworldy song, in comparison to some of the other work on this record, but fits in nonetheless, and is one of the darker moments on the album.

rating: 4

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3rd year student at Aberystwyth University, studying Fine Art and English Literature, music enthusiast, multi-instrumentalist and member of the Art Rock band Kopár.