Arcade Fire, Canada’s best export since Neil Young, was the musical guest on this weekend’s otherwise lackluster season premiere of “Saturday Night Live,” where the band took the opportunity for the live semi-debut of its newest single, “Reflektor,” as well as the full debut of “Afterlife,” both from the group’s upcoming fourth album, which arrives Oct. 29th.
Shortly after midnight, the band kicked off the first single and namesake of their new album, “Reflektor,” in what nearly seemed to be a spontaneous running start. The husband-wife duo of frontman Win Butler and singer Regine Chassagne traded lead vocals, peppering French into the lyrics before Chassagne entered a mirror-filled chamber and proceeded to look weirded out.
The band later debuted “Afterlife,” another track from the new album, which is all but dripping with part-time producer James Murphy’s signature.
Additionally, members of the band appeared in a sketch called “New Cast Member or Arcade Fire,” wherein host Tina Fey had to decipher who was a member of the band and which was a new member of the show. Butler was paired with Mike O’Brien, both doing terrible Robert DeNiro impressions. Meanwhile, a leather-jacketed Chassagne was set alongside Noel Wells, holding “old-timey instruments” to assist Fey’s visualization.
After the show, Arcade Fire kicked off a new concert special, “Here Comes the Night Time”. Directed by Roman Coppola, the show featured new song “We Exist” and other teases from their upcoming album. Check it out below:
