Arcade Fire have been building up to a new album announcement, doing Arcade Fire-y things like performing new music at an intimate surprise performance while dressed as jesters and previewing new recordings through a chat app called Circle Of Trust (an... interesting choice for a name, given the misconduct allegations against Win Butler in 2022). And indeed, they do have a new album on the way. It's called Pink Elephant, and it'll be out a mere month from now, preceded by some to-be-announced full-album performances in various cities.
The title Pink Elephant refers to the effect that the more you try to suppress a thought, the harder it becomes to avoid. Butler and his spouse/bandmate Régine Chassagne produced the album with the legendary Daniel Lanois at Butler and Chassagne's Good News Recording Studio in New Orleans. One of its 10 songs is, in fact, called "Circle Of Trust." "Cars And Telephones," the old song the band has been playing live — which, according to a press release, is the first song Butler ever played for Chassagne — is not on the album but is available to hear in the app along with a music video. And speaking of music videos, Arcade Fire have one today for the actual lead single, "Year Of The Snake."
So named because 2025 is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese Zodiac, the song is all about how times are weird and bad, but feeling uncomfortable can be positive. "It's the season of change, and if you you feel strange/ It's probably good," goes the chorus. The final refrain: "It’s the year of the snake, so let your heart break." The song's video follows Butler and Chassagne road tripping in their 1990s Ford Aerostar, from Mardi Gras in their adopted hometown to the rodeos of Butler's native Houston. Ultimately it leads to Willie Nelson's Luck Ranch, where the aforementioned intimate jester performance went down last month. The video is a collaboration with David Wilson and Mark Prendergast, and you can see it below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Open Your Heart Or Die Trying"
02 "Pink Elephant"
03 "Year Of The Snake"
04 "Circle Of Trust"
05 "Alien Nation"
06 "Beyond Salvation"
07 "Ride Or Die"
08 "I Love Her Shadow"
09 "She Cries Diamond Rain"
10 "Stuck In My Head"
Pink Elephant is out 5/9 via Columbia.
