Last night, Arcade Fire announced that their new record Pink Elephant is coming. They announced the news on Circle of Trust, an app designed for their fans. The new record will be released May 9.
The band also shared the first single, "Year of the Snake", on the app last night, according to NME, and they formally released it across streaming platforms today.
The new single features band member Régine Chassagne as main vocalist and bassist, with front man Win Butler on drums and secondary vocals. Listen to "Year of the Snake" below:
Arcade Fire's seventh studio album will take on the form of a "condensed epic" that unfolds upon each listen, according to a press release. The band added that the title Pink Elephant refers to "that paradoxical effect where the effort to suppress a thought leads to it being impossible to avoid."
(In Western literature, a "pink elephant" is also a euphemism for hallucinations, either caused by alcohol abuse and/or withdrawal.)
Pink Elephant Tracklist:
1. "Open Your Heart or Die Trying"
2. "Pink Elephant"
3. "Year Of The Snake"
4. "Circle Of Trust"
5. "Alien Nation"
6. "Beyond Salvation"
7. "Ride Or Die"
8. "I Love Her Shadow"
9. "She Cries Diamond Rain"
10. "Stuck In My Head"
The new material is also the band's official return since damning allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse against Win Butler were revealed in 2022. Around the release of their Grammy-nominated sixth studio album WE, Pitchfork published an investigative piece about multiple women accusing Butler of inappropriate behavior, ranging from emotional manipulation, to nonconsensual sex acts, to encouraging underage drinking, and sexual harassment over text.
Three women who came forward to Pitchfork specified they were 18 to 23 at the time of their relationships with Butler, which took place from 2016 to 2020. Butler was between 36 and 39 at the time. Another woman — 22 at the time of meeting a 35 year-old Butler in 2015 — alleged they were involved in an "ongoing abusive relationship," Pitchfork reported.
Butler responded in Pitchfork's investigation, acknowledging that sexual relationships with fans did take place, but they "were all consensual." Through his crisis PR manager Risa Heller, he wrote:
"As I look to the future, I am continuing to learn from my mistakes and working hard to become a better person, someone my son can be proud of. [...] I'm sorry I wasn't more aware and tuned in to the effect I have on people — I f***** up, and while not an excuse, I will continue to look forward and heal what can be healed, and learn from past experiences."
Many reports at the time of these revelations noted Arcade Fire's cult-like mystique in the alt rock world, particularly in their home city of Montréal, QC. NPR noted that many fans and critics glorified the band, considering them to be one of the province's biggest stars.
Thus, the choice to market Pink Elephants as a mystic cult ritual — naming a track and fan service app "Circle of Trust," alluding to drunken hallucinations in the title, etc. — is bold, especially after serious allegations of emotional manipulation, sexual abuse and misconduct, and power imbalances were recently made against Butler.
More details on Pink Elephants will be released soon, according to Arcade Fire.
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