We’re only a few weeks away from the release of WE, Arcade Fire’s first release in five years. Our first single(s) ‘The Lightning I and II” were an excellent return to form from a band whose last album was widely regarded as an experiment more interesting than it was successful. But time in quarantine seems to have helped the band hone in on their strengths, and “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” is another knockout. The band is completely in their bag here, focusing on painfully earnest lyrics and some of the most instantly sing-along-able melodies this side of naturals like Taylor Swift. It is emphatically not for everyone but if you’re an Arcade Fire fan, it is for you in a way this band’s music hasn’t been since “No Cars Go.”
“There’s nothing saccharine about unconditional love in a world that is coming apart at the seams,” Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler said in a statement. “WE need each other, in all of our imperfection. ‘Lookout Kid’ is a reminder, a lullaby for the end times, sung to my son, but for everyone… Trust your heart, trust your mind, trust your body, trust your soul. Shit is going to get worse before it gets better, but it always gets better, and no one’s perfect. Let me say it again. No one’s perfect.”
WE will release in its entirety on May 6.
