Photo: Getty Images North America
Yesterday (March 14), Arcade Fire revealed they had a new song called "The Lightning I, II" coming out on Thursday (March 17), but they couldn't wait that long to let fans hear it and played the track live during a last-minute Ukraine benefit show at Toulouse Theatre in New Orleans last night.
According to Setlist.fm, the band also unveiled two other new songs at the concert: "Rabbit Hole" and "Age of Anxiety," the latter drawing inspiration from "Memories Of The Age Of Anxiety," a 45-minute instrumental track written for meditation app Headspace last year. They also played "Generation A" — a song that was live-debuted on Stephen Colbert's Election Night Special in 2020 but never properly released.
Arcade Fire have been teasing a new album for years now, but recording was halted due to the pandemic. In April 2020, singer Win Butler said "the band was a few months into recording new material when COVID-19 hit," adding that "the writing has intensified, and the work is flowing out."
From the look of all the new music, it seems like they may finally be ready to start their new chapter. Their last album was 2017's Everything, Everything.
Proceeds benefited Plus1’s Ukraine Relief Fund, and the show was streamed on TikTok and Instagram. See footage of "The Lightning I, II" and "Age of Anxiety" below.