Often cited as one of the world’s top live acts, Arcade Fire prove yet again that they don’t need arena bombast to make an impact, as illustrated in a recent three-song session the Montreal act recorded for Australia’s Triple J Radio.
While touring Down Under in support of their recent “Reflektor” album, the group mixed things up with new arrangements and instrumental line-ups for some familiar songs.
With a grinning Win Butler addressing the presumably small Aussie crowd, they kick things off with a fractured riff from Blur’s “Song 2” before launching into the “Reflektor” tune “Normal Person,” featuring a row of conga players led by Regine Chassagne, and what sounds like a detuned piano used for occasional percussion.
Watch “Normal Person” here:
They followed with a sparse, hymn-like take on the haunting “My Body is a Cage” from their sophomore release “Neon Bible.”
Watch it here:
Listen to the entire session here, including hilarious exchanges about their Oscar-nomnated soundtrack for Spike Jonze’s “Her,” and their love of drum-loving hitmakers Imagine Dragons and actual imagined dragons.
Arcade Fire’s North American tour kicks off March 6 in Louisville, KY.