‘Pink Elephant’, available across all streaming platforms and below, follows ‘Year of the Snake’, which Billboard described as carrying a “thrumming bass line and anthemic glimmers”. The new track comes accompanied by a video and finds the band reflecting on the idea of suppressed thoughts, with the repeated refrain “Take your mind off me” pulling at the paradox of trying to forget what cannot be forgotten.
Pink Elephant the album will mark Arcade Fire’s first full-length release since 2022’s Grammy-nominated WE, and features ten new tracks described as “cinematic mystical punk”, clocking in at 42 minutes. It was produced by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, and Daniel Lanois, and recorded at Good News Recording Studio in New Orleans.
The band have already begun playing the record live in full, with a string of tiny, sold-out gigs including New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre and London’s Royal Albert Hall on 14th May.
A performance on SNL is also scheduled for the 10th May, and it’ll be Arcade Fire’s sixth appearance as guests on the show.
Founded in Montreal in 2001 by Win Butler and Josh Deu, Arcade Fire shot to critical acclaim with their debut album Funeral in 2004. Their sound, often described as sweeping and emotionally charged, has won them multiple Grammy Awards and established them as one of indie rock’s most influential bands.
Albums like Neon Bible, The Suburbs, and Reflektor have expanded their musical palette, marrying art rock, baroque pop, and electronic influences.
Pink Elephant promises to build on that, giving what the band describes as a journey that meditates on light, darkness, and the beauty between.
