Arcade Fire have confirmed that they are coming out with a new album entitled WE and it will be released on May 6, 2022 via Columbia Records. A press release notes that WE was produced by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne along with Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and it was recorded in cities like New Orleans, El Paso and Mount Desert Island.
Paired with this announcement, Win, Régine, and the rest of the AF gang are releasing their new song/video, “The Lightning I, II.” The black-and-white visual following the band seeing a live performance impacted by a tornado was directed by Emily Kai Bock – watch it below.
The press release also reveals some more interesting insight into what’s to come. Win Butler states that WE is “the longest we’ve ever spent writing, uninterrupted, probably ever.” Meanwhile, we also learn that the album has an intended narrative of catharsis, which “follows a definable arc from darkness into light over the course of seven songs divided into two distinct sides — Side ‘I’ channeling the fear and loneliness of isolation, and Side ‘WE’ expressing the joy and power of reconnection.”
Arcade Fire WE tracklisting
“I”
1. Age of Anxiety I
2. Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)
3. End of the Empire I-IV
“WE”
4. The Lightning I, II
5. Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)
6. Unconditional II (Race and Religion)
7. WE
