Album Review: Arcade Fire - Everything Now

But one who completely smash that cliché out of the water is Arcade Fire. The French-Canadians had big success with their friendly art rock sound that had encapsulated live crowds - with a little help from their mesmerising light shows.

But they needed a new direction. By the time The Suburbs arrived in 2010 it had been done, it maybe started to sound a little too familiar.

Reflektor in 2013 experimented with this and that - with some interesting results. And now, on record number five, they have gone full disco.

It's fantastic, no exaggeration. Nearly every song hits its target, a couple of lighter tracks late on stopping it scoring a perfect five.

But let's look at the best stuff. Creature Comfort is a romping, stomping number that mixes staccato beats with uplifting keys and holds a perfectly catchy chorus - it could slide right into the soundtrack for hip movie Drive.

It's proving a hit as a single and it is easy to see why. Fans who missed them repeatedly on the first few records may be hooked in by this and work backwards to rediscover the early days magic like No Cars Go and Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out).

Signs Of Life, too, is great fun with its heavy bass and funky demeanour. It's like the band sat down for ages with ABBA's back catalogue on repeat and thought: "Yeah, we like this - what about if we mix it with, say, the Shaft theme?" It portrays an assuredness in song-writing from the ensemble.

There is the jazzed up Chemistry too, another track that allows them to have some fun. Both versions of Infinite_Content as well - the second sounding like a private party powered by elevator music.

This is great fun and will add some glitz and dance to their live tour next year. We, for one, can't wait to see it.

Get this record, Arcade Fire fans, and join them on their new journey. It's a blast!

Rating: 4/5

Arcade Fire bring their new tour to Birmingham's Genting Arena on Sunday, April 15, 2018.