The new Arcade Fire single is here. Behold “Lightning I, II”

Five years after the release of Everything Now, Arcade Fire has returned with a new single and the announcement of their sixth album, WE, which is due May 6. And it appears there will be quite a bit to unpack.

The band says “the longest we’ve ever spent writing, uninterrupted, probably ever” yet the record comes in at 40 minutes. And call it a concept album, too.

The first half of the album is subtitled I, which is all about fear and the loneliness of isolation while the section half carries the subtitle WE, signifying joy and the power of reconnection. So COVID, then.

Here’s the tracklisting.

“I”

Age of Anxiety I
Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)
End of the Empire I-IV

“WE”

The Lightning I, II
Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)
Unconditional II (Race and Religion)
WE

And the artwork? Yes, that’s a human eye, but it’s also supposed to evoke Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way which will one day consume us all.