Arcade Fire - WE (2022)

Anyway, as much as I find the album very listenable and foot-tapping and sing-along, I kind of sense that AC have genuinely begun to run out of ideas.

They peaked with the excellent "The Suburbs" and then really overstretched their limits subsequently (albeit quite heroically) with the faintly exasperating and absurdly overlong "Reflektor" - an album that actually seemed pretty gr8 after the scant and flimsy "Everything Now".

However, there's a distinct sense that "WE" is almost like a by numbers tribute album to themselves.

In fact, although they were patchy and self-indulgent and demonstrated a real misanthropy and disgust at their global success (and, let's be honest, their fans), there was, for a while, a sense that they had a drive to defy expectations and be contrary and mischievous, however, so much of this album is just a blurry smear of some of the better songs off of Neon Bible, The Suburbs, Reflektor and Everything Now all occurring at once on every song.

Still, the 'right on' and worthy lyrics they trade in always somehow continue to come over as peevishly whining and Kevin the Teenager-esque instead of profound and moving and dog them to this day.

Ultimately, they're hard to like and, despite all of their Montreal cool credentials, they're probably one of the most uncool bands to admit you like.

But I do.