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Arcade Fire, who have kept a low profile since multiple sexual misconduct allegations were leveled against frontman Win Butler in 2022, will return on May 9 with their seventh studio album, “Pink Elephant,” released on Columbia Records. The 10-track album is preceded by the single and video “Year of the Snake,” embedded below.
Comprising 10 new songs “of cinematic mystical punk,” according to the announcement, the album was produced by Butler, his wife and bandmate Régine Chassagne and Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris) and was recorded at the band’s Good News Recording Studio in New Orleans.
While the announcement states that the term “pink elephant” refers to “that paradoxical effect where the effort to suppress a thought leads to it being impossible to avoid,” it does not mention that the term is also an old-school reference to alcoholism-induced hallucinations.
The song references 2025 being the Lunar Year of the Snake, “which represents a time for renewal, positive transformation and new beginnings,” and the video prominently features Butler and Chassagne being affectionate and playfully romping around New Orleans during Mardis Gras and a Houston rodeo with Jeremy Gara, Tim Kingsbury and Richard Reed Parry, and briefly visiting with Willie Nelson at his Texas ranch.
The release is also accompanied by the band’s “Circle of Trust” app, which features Arcade Fire news, music, videos, early access to tickets, exclusive merch, and the premiere episode of “Santa Pirata Radio,” where the band speak directly to fans. It also includes the exclusive release of the track “Cars and Telephones” and its accompanying video. According to the announcement, this previously unreleased track was the composition that Butler ever played for Chassagne.
The new release appears to reflect a concerted effort to move on from the 2022 allegations, for which Butler apologized while maintaining that the five relationships were consensual.
In the coming days Arcade Fire will announce special gigs in select cities where the band will perform the new album in its entirety prior to its release.
“Pink Elephant” tracklist:
1. Open Your Heart or Die Trying
2. Pink Elephant
3. Year of the Snake
4. Circle of Trust
5. Alien Nation
6. Beyond Salvation
7. Ride or Die
8. I Love Her Shadow
9. She Cries Diamond Rain
10. Stuck In My Head
