Arcade Fire will return this spring with Pink Elephant, the Montreal band’s first new album since 2022’s WE. Scheduled for release on 9 May via Columbia Records, the 10-track project finds the band working once again with longtime collaborator Daniel Lanois and recording at Win Butler and Régine Chassagne’s Good News Studio in New Orleans.
The announcement arrives alongside the release of lead single “Year of the Snake,” which marks a number of firsts for the group: Chassagne takes up the bass, while Butler is on drums. The track is accompanied by a video directed by David Wilson, whose past collaborations with the band include 2010’s “We Used to Wait,” along with visual artist Mark Prendergast. The clip follows Butler and Chassagne on a surreal road trip through the American South, ending at Willie Nelson’s Luck Ranch outside Austin, where the song made its live debut under a full blood moon.
Watch the video below:
“Year of the Snake” refers to the current Lunar New Year, a nod to cycles of renewal and transformation. That theme underpins much of Pink Elephant, an album the band has described as exploring the tension between self-erasure and persistence. The album title references the psychological phenomenon where suppressing a thought only makes it more persistent—an idea reportedly central to the record’s lyrical framework.
Pink Elephant was produced by Butler, Chassagne, and Lanois, and runs just over 40 minutes. It’s their first new material since WE, which debuted at number one in multiple countries, including the UK and Ireland, and reached the top five in Canada. While WE was a deeply introspective and at times grandiose affair, early signs suggest the new album may lean into more direct, rhythm-driven arrangements, albeit still within Arcade Fire’s characteristically expansive sonic world.
In tandem with the new release, the band has launched an app called Circle of Trust, which features exclusive music, videos, and commentary from the group. A rare early track titled “Cars and Telephones” is available exclusively through the app, alongside a new podcast series hosted by the band.
Tour dates are expected soon, with select performances of Pink Elephant slated ahead of the album’s official release.
The track listing for Pink Elephant is:
- Open Your Heart or Die Trying
- Pink Elephant
- Year of the Snake
- Circle of Trust
- Alien Nation
- Beyond Salvation
- Ride or Die
- I Love Her Shadow
- She Cries Diamond Rain
- Stuck In My Head
Pink Elephant will be available in multiple formats. Pre order HERE.
PHOTO CREDIT: DANNY CLINCH
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