I was looking for a fifth new release to round out this unofficial theme week, and had to chuckle when I saw that Canadian indie band Arcade Fire had a new album out.
Back in 2013, I made the controversial decision to feature all 16 tracks of Arcade Fire’s celebrated album The Suburbs, much to the consternation of my most loyal readers.
I found that release, a Grammy winner for Album of the Year and a sprawling concept album about suburban malaise, a fascinating and resonant piece of art. The commenters felt differently, to say the least.
Arcade Fire released two more albums in the years since, and I skimmed one and totally missed the other. Now they’re out with We, an album inspired by the anxieties of our pandemic times.
We is a tighter record than The Suburbs but it has similarly grandiose ambitions, both sonically and thematically. I don’t return to The Suburbs often, or at all, and I don’t see this one entering my regular rotation either, but I’m always glad to see songwriters treating the full-length album as a unique art form.
The We track I’m most drawn to is ‘Unconditional I (Lookout Kid),’ which the band recently performed nicely on Saturday Night Live. It’s a touching tribute from husband/wife team (and bandleaders) Win Butler and Régine Chassagne to their son.
Lookout kid, trust your heart
You don’t have to play the part they wrote for you
Just be true
There are things that you could do
That no one else on earth could ever do
But I can’t teach you, I can’t teach it to you
[Verse 2: Win Butler]
Lookout kid, trust your mind
But you can’t trust it everytime
You know it plays tricks on you
And it don’t give a damn if you are happy or you’re sad
But if you’ve lost it, don’t feel bad
‘Cause it’s alright to be sad
[Verse 3: Win Butler]
Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do
Do-do, do-do, do-do, do-do-do-do
Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do
Do-do, do-do, do-do, do-do-do-do
Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do
Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do
Do-do-do-do
[Verse 4: Win Butler, Win Butler & Régine Chassagne]
Lookout kid, trust your body
You can dance, and you can shake
Things will break, you make mistakes
You lose your friends, again and again
‘Cause nothing is ever perfect
No one’s perfect
Lеt me say it again: no one’s perfеct
Right
[Pre-Chorus: Win Butler & Régine Chassagne]
A lifetime of skinned knees
And heartbreak comes so easy
But a life without pain would be boring
[Chorus: Win Butler & Régine Chassagne]
And if you feel it, it’s fine
I give you everything that’s mine
I give you my heart and my precious time
[Post-Chorus]
Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do
Do-do, do-do, do-do-do-do-do
[Verse 5: Win Butler, Win Butler & Régine Chassagne]
Lookout kid, trust your soul
It ain’t hard to rock n’ roll
You know how to move your hips
And you know God is cool with it
Some people want the rock without the roll
But we all know, there’s no God without soul
Right
[Pre-Chorus: Win Butler & Régine Chassagne]
A lifetime of skinned knees
And heartbreak comes so easily
But a life without you
Would be boring for someone like me
[Chorus: Win Butler & Régine Chassagne]
And if you feel it, it’s fine
I give you everything that’s mine
I give you my heart and my precious time
(Precious time)
(I’ll give you everything)
I give you my heart and my precious time
[Post-Chorus]
Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do
Do-do, do-do, do-do-do-do-do
[Outro: Win Butler & Régine Chassagne]
Unconditional
It’s unconditional
It’s unconditional
No matter what you do
It’s unconditional (Unconditional)
It’s unconditional (Unconditional)
Unconditonal (No matter what you do)
It’s unconditional (Unconditional)
Meet Me In Montauk 
Lol! Glad you aren’t doing the full album again, though I must admit I kinda like this one.