Last September, Arcade Fire celebrated the 15th anniversary of their debut album, The Funeral. The record catapulted the band into the mainstream with their smash hit “Wake Up,” and the indie rockers have since put out four more albums. After a brief hiatus, the group announced they are gearing up for a new release. On Thursday, Arcade Fire’s lead vocalist shared proof that the band is indeed working on new material.
After announcing an upcoming Arcade Fire release by posting a verbose letter to social media, vocalist Win Butler finally shared a snippet of what the group has been working on. In his Instagram story, Butler captured a few short videos of the band listening to demos in their studio. The first snippet features Butler’s signature vocals over pounding snares. The track cuts out and Butler continues to sing the lyrics: “You speak your mind, don’t care who it offends / With you, I never have to pretend.”
In his final preview, Win captures the band’s mixer board while a snippet previews expansive synths gliding under poignant percussion. “Proof I’m Alive,” Butler wrote. “Still here @arcadefire.”
[instagram: djwindows98] pic.twitter.com/t8ZkO90TMA
— Arcade Fire Tube (@ArcadeFireTube) April 30, 2020
Ahead of the previews, Butler shared a lengthy statement about the band’s upcoming effort, saying the group has turned an intense focus to creating material during the quarantine: “For my part, I’m pouring my heart, soul and all of my precious time into the music and recording (Not closing the door on doing some online performances, but it feels like many artists have that covered;) But talk to me in August when we are all climbing the walls…consider that a song request Radiohead). When you listen to the music that’s coming (…eventually…not soon…if you don’t have patience by now, you definitely aren’t reading this), you will know what we were working on under quarantine.”