History dictates that any truly forward thinking artist or band will change their sound one their fans get too comfortable with it. Bob Dylan did it when he went electric – David Bowie did it with virtually every album he released,  hell even Blondie did it when they threw everyone with Rapture.  It can surprise and confuse fans as they stamp their feet like petulant children demanding for more of what they loved. Truth is the results can often be patchy but if the songwriting is good then it can be surprising, euphoric and down right exciting. Thankfully Arcade Fire seem to fallen into this camp with their latest release and first taste of their brand new album.

Starting with a groove and whisper of a saxophone that sounds like it could have stepped straight from David Bowie’s 1983 hit “Lets Dance” , Winn and Regine start to trade vocals (he in English, her in French) like they are reading from their personal diaries – It’s sexy and slightly edgy.  3 mins in  the track decides it actually wants to be played in stadiums as well as night-clubs and we get a 45 second break that begs for the house lights to be switched on and hands held aloft. If this isn’t a key moment in your collective 2014 festival life’s we swear we will personally eat your wellies. The groove returns and the funk continues before as the song draws to a close (7 and a half minutes worth) and a certain Mr David Bowie kicks it up a notch further to add some delicious backing vocals and a piano refrain seals the deal.

If we sound overly gushy we make no apology. Arcade Fire haven’t put a foot wrong in the past three albums and expectations for No.4 are sky high. Ultimately they have come back with a track so damn good, so damn sexy, exceeding all our expectations and perhaps even triumphing “Wake Up” in the process. Our only apology should go perhaps to the band itself for whoever leaked the song over the weekend must have surely burst their bubble of building the expectation and reveal in tonights big announcement.  In doing so we feel like guilty school kids having been caught raiding the local sweet store – Sure tastes good though.

9.5 / 10