Arcade Fire - We

Facts Produced by Nigel Godrich, Win & Regine, and recorded in multiple locales including New Orleans, El Paso and Mount Desert Island, 'WE' paradoxically distills 'the longest we've ever spent writing, uninterrupted, probably ever' (per the band's Win Butler) into a concise 40 minute epic - one as much about the forces that threaten to pull us away from the people we love, as it is inspired by the urgent need to overcome them. The album's cathartic journey follows a definable arc from darkness into light over the course of seven songs divided into two distinct sides - Side 'I' channeling the fear and loneliness of isolation, and Side 'WE' expressing the joy and power of reconnection. On the album's cover, a photograph of a human eye by the artist JR evokes Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. This stunning image - embellished by the distinctive airbrush colour tinting of Terry Pastor (utilising the same physical technique he employed on David Bowie's iconic 'Hunky Dory' and 'Ziggy Stardust' covers) - is the visual expression of 'WE'.