Stream New Arcade Fire Tracks, ‘Speaking In Tongues’ and ‘Culture War’

With the CD/DVD package ‘Scenes From The Suburbs’ coming out on June 27, two bonus tracks have surfaced online.

‘Speaking In Tongues’ features David Byrne and, spookily, the track also shares a name with Talking Heads album. In fact, probably not coincidentally, it’s the same album which ends with the track (This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)’ which Arcade Fire have covered with Byrne.

Arcade Fire

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Mzx252-xk&hl=en&fs=0&rel=0&autoplay=0&showsearch=0&showinfo=0&iv_load_policy=0

The track instantly puts in the mindframe of ‘Out Of Time’-era REM, with its lilting guitar refrain and Win Butler’s Stipean vocal delivery. When Byrne comes in during the last minute for some backing vocal action, it all feels very ‘Mike Mills’.

The lyrics seems to continue ‘The Suburbs’ vague theme of provincial dysfunction with Butler addressing his “Hypocrite reader, my double, my brother” who’s gone awry.

Meanwhile ‘Culture War’ is a much more downtempo number, about the ephemeral passing of time (“the dominos, they never fell…). “Now the kids are growing up so fast,” sings Win and you’re in the camp-side sing along mindset of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Circle Game’ or Neil Young’s ‘Sugar Mountain’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Uz9HUkrNk&hl=en&fs=0&rel=0&autoplay=0&showsearch=0&showinfo=0&iv_load_policy=0

What do you think of the tracks?

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