Day Three hundred and eleven - It's never over (hey Orpheus)

Who : Arcade Fire

Album name : Reflektor

Formed : 2001

From : Montreal, Canada

What do they play : Indie rock / chamber pop / art rock / baroque pop / symphonic rock (at least according to Wikipedia)

Release date : October 28, 2013.

Well, no wonder I paid no attention to this album, just look at when it came out. October 2013 I was going through my very special kind of hell, one from which I did not escape unscathed. Be that as it may, yes - it really escaped my notice. Oh, I listened to the first single - 'Reflektor' - and eh, I didn't really fancy it. Just from the get-go I was so ready to hate this album, because I'd read that they's enlisted LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy to produce the record, and while I don't mind the odd LCD Soundsystem song here and there, I never managed to get through a single record of theirs from end to the other. It's the kind of band that is just not for me, and apologies to those who I am about to offend, it's a band that people who are incredibly smug and think themselves oh so clever like. There was also another thing that left me feeling wary about the record - it's a double album, a triple album even - if you listen to the deluxe edition, something I've not yet managed to do. So when it came out, it just passed me by, and I didn't mind it. I didn't need it in my life. But when I got to fall in love with 'The Suburbs' back in 2015-16, I decided to give this one a go. And... yeah, pretty much everything I feared came to pass. It's bloated, and with good, critical editing, it could have been a pretty decent single disc album. I think that the first disc is almost all of it filler, with maybe a couple of exceptions. So many songs there are bland, and feel lifeless, and cold - at least to me. I wouldn't be able to hum 99% of the songs on that first disc. Disc two, however, is much better. And funnily enough, it features not one, but two of my all-time favourite Arcade Fire songs - 'Afterlife', such an anthemic club song, and 'It's never over (Hey Orpheus)'. Love those songs. 'Supersymmetry' is pretty decent as well. Again, the second disc would have been better placed on the first one, replacing quite a a few of those duds. I listened to the record again lately and it still doesn't grip me at all. Maybe one day in the future, it will, but not now, not as yet. It's funny to think that this one was an album I actually paid a premium price for the vinyl version - I think that for a time some years back it was a scarce commodity, and when I found it, I scooped it up - though it came at a high cost.

And honestly? I find this album to be so kinda mid that I give it an unimpressive five out of 10.