Arcade Fire by Michael Marcelle
Our recap of the main stories we featured during the past seven days includes high profile returns for Arcade Fire and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Arcade Fire’s sixth studio album is entitled WE and will be released on May 6th.
Preceded by first single The Lightning I, II, it was produced by Nigel Godrich along with Win and Régine Chassagne at various recording locations including New Orleans, El Paso and Mount Desert Island.
“My grandmother read me a book when I was a little kid that had the word ‘WE’ stamped into its cover in broken, 1920’s golden leaf,” Butler explains.
Muse have unveiled their new album Will Of The People, recorded in Los Angeles and London.
Matt Bellamy has said the LP is, ‘influenced by the increasing uncertainty and instability in the world’ – something alluded to in typically understated Muse fashion by the inclusion of a song entitled We Are Fucking Fucked.
“A pandemic, new wars in Europe, massive protests and riots, an attempted insurrection, Western democracy wavering, rising authoritarianism, wildfires and natural disasters and the destabilisation of the global order all informed Will Of The People,” he continued.
Lorde, Sam Fender and Ed Sheeran are at the top of the bill for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2022 which is set to take place between May 27th-29th.
Other up there include Fontaines D.C., Anne-Marie, Calvin Harris, Mabel and Yungblud.
“Radio 1’s Big Weekend always kicks off the UK’s festival season in style, so we’re delighted to be bringing it back to the field again for 2022,” Aled Haydn Jones of Radio 1 says.
Photo: Paul Bachmann
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have announced shows in London and Manchester this spring – their first UK ones in nearly a decade.
“OK UK!,” a social media message reads. “We are coming to lend our light to dark ages and holy shit are we ready to play our hearts out for you!! Yeah it’s been nine years since we’ve graced your club stages!”
“Yeah we’ve got some tunes so fresh and so NEW to try out on you! Yeah the bill is so MAJOR with Dry Cleaning and Anika in London and English Teacher in Manchester.”
The announcement of the supports for Jack White’s upcoming North American tour has brought news of the return of Be Your Own Pet, whose singer Jemina Pearl said there’s been a, ‘hole in my heart for the past 14 years’.
“We shared something life-changing together, so to get to go back and do it again as adults feels like coming home,” she continued.
“We are here to have fun and enjoy the good times,” guitarist Jonas Stein added. “After enough time goes by, the negativity turns into life experience and the positivity grows and turns into more fun and laughter. Be safe and have fun with it!”
The Rolling Stones will be back at Hyde Park in London for two concerts this summer.
The site of one of their most famous gigs in 1969, the Stones returned to Hyde Park in 2013 and are now heading back there again on Saturday, June 25th and Sunday, July 3rd.
“Whenever Hyde Park is mentioned, it’s impossible not to think of The Rolling Stones,” Jim King of AEG Presents says. “Two nights on June 25th and July 3rd cap off an incredible line up for BST Hyde Park 2022 but nobody brings it like the Stones when they’re on home turf in London.”