Arcade Fire - Electric Blue

The universe Arcade Fire have constructed around their upcoming fifth album is nothing short of compelling. Branded to within an inch of its life, with each song, video or live appearance it’s as if we’re stepping further into a dystopian video game, Douglas Coupland novel, or - and let’s be honest, it’s not entirely obvious which of these two is would actually be more realistic at this point - either having a not-so-flattering mirror thrown up at our own world, or finding ourselves inside Marty McFly’s alternate future. So when the latest cut from ‘Everything Now’ comes with prettily-shot footage of Régine Chassagne cavorting her way through the litter-strewn aftermath of a street party, binmen following in her wake, no eyelids shall be bat.

‘Electric Blue’ is - believe it - even more disco-tinged than the title track, if such a thing was ever thought possible. Matching Régine’s dreamy, high-pitched vocals with swirling synth lines and the band’s now-standard dance floor beat, it’s a little less in-your-face than any of the tracks that’ve preceded it, but is every bit the immediate earworm. Whether it’s pledging allegiance to everything around us, everything at once, or just their own ‘Everything Now’ Arcade Fire are after, at this point hands everywhere are already on hearts, waiting.