Hear Two New Arcade Fire Songs

The music world is always thinking up new ways to premiere music, so as to get the edge on your ever-assaulted ears, but this may take the cake. Somewhere in Glasgow, Scotland a double-sided white-label single was uncovered by one Chris Ward, preceding any official announcement or availability of two new songs from the epically minded Canadian indie-rock troupe, Arcade Fire.

“The Suburbs” and “Month of May” made their debut via BBC Radio 1, and were subsequently radio ripped for your convenient listening pleasure. We’re going to save any in-depth comments on the music for when official releases are made, but we’ll go ahead and say, Arcade Fire seems to be getting a bit back to is roots while keeping a mind on the stadium-sized sounds they love so much.

Listen to Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” and “Month of May” on OneThirtyBPM, here.

The Crystal Ark - “The City Never Sleeps”DFA Records (2010)
Genre: ElectronicRating: C
The Crystal Ark, yet another project from DFA’s proto-techno patron Gavin Russom, is said to be born of an inspiring chunk of time the producer spent living and touring in Brazil. While Russom’s debut track under this new moniker does contain a bit of Spanish lyrics from vocalist Viva Ruiz, not much else is apparently South American or even Latin. “The City Never Sleeps” sounds like just another step for the Black Meteoric Star style Russom is best known for, albeit one in a less sinister and increasingly human direction.
Few elements are really at work in the “The City,” and variations in the 12-minute epic usually come when something is taken out of the mix—only to return to the track later. A straightforward dance beat introduces the song before a playful arpeggiated synth melody, a throbbing bassline, and some metallic percussion all begin to surface. The song is enjoyable in its ups and downs, but the peaks are hardly peaks when compared to their relatively elevated valleys. Even in the song’s final minutes, while vocals repeatedly plead, “open up that door/I want some more,” and the hypnotic synth sounds are surrounded by gusts of atmosphere and ghostly vocal timbres, Russom’s single doesn’t quite take you to the place one might hope. “The City Never Sleeps” is far more about the journey than the destination.
-Patric Fallon
Gavin Russom on Myspace

The Crystal Ark - “The City Never Sleeps”
DFA Records (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Rating: C

The Crystal Ark, yet another project from DFA’s proto-techno patron Gavin Russom, is said to be born of an inspiring chunk of time the producer spent living and touring in Brazil. While Russom’s debut track under this new moniker does contain a bit of Spanish lyrics from vocalist Viva Ruiz, not much else is apparently South American or even Latin. “The City Never Sleeps” sounds like just another step for the Black Meteoric Star style Russom is best known for, albeit one in a less sinister and increasingly human direction.

Few elements are really at work in the “The City,” and variations in the 12-minute epic usually come when something is taken out of the mix—only to return to the track later. A straightforward dance beat introduces the song before a playful arpeggiated synth melody, a throbbing bassline, and some metallic percussion all begin to surface. The song is enjoyable in its ups and downs, but the peaks are hardly peaks when compared to their relatively elevated valleys. Even in the song’s final minutes, while vocals repeatedly plead, “open up that door/I want some more,” and the hypnotic synth sounds are surrounded by gusts of atmosphere and ghostly vocal timbres, Russom’s single doesn’t quite take you to the place one might hope. “The City Never Sleeps” is far more about the journey than the destination.

-Patric Fallon

Gavin Russom on Myspace

Hear Two New Arcade Fire Songs

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