Arcade Fire - We

1xLP on 180g Black Vinyl After the slight stumble of 2017's Everything Now, Canadian indie rock heroes Arcade Fire re-center themselves on their sixth album, WE. Produced by Nigel Godrich, Win Butler, and Régine Chassagne, the pensive set captures the whirlwind of emotions felt during the first years of the pandemic -- and not just because of COVID-19 itself, but also from the drastic social shifts and interpersonal adaptations made across the globe -- and soundtracks that melodrama with a tightly sequenced journey that plucks from every era in the band's catalog. Timely and relevant, WE works best when experienced in a single sitting. Split into two parts, Side "I" comprises the two-part "Age of Anxiety" and the four-part "End of the Empire" suite, picking up steam for Side "WE" and "The Lightning I, II," "Unconditional" parts one and two, and the title track finale. The thematic split creates a thoughtful progression from the isolated and fearful first-person singular to the warmer,