Today, Arcade Fire quietly dropped the music video for “Year of the Snake,” the lead single from their upcoming seventh album Pink Elephant, due out May 9, 2025, via Columbia Records.
The track is a soft, minimal, synth-driven dream-rock number, repetitive in structure and subdued in delivery.
While it hints at the band’s ongoing interest in sonic experimentation, it doesn’t do much to rekindle the bombast and communal singalongs that once defined Arcade Fire at their peak.
In the wake of Win Butler’s 2022 misconduct allegations that cast a long shadow over the WE album rollout, “Year of the Snake” also doesn’t seem aimed at rehabilitating the band’s public image. Instead, it feels like Arcade Fire leaning into a more understated, inward-facing direction.
There’s still creative curiosity here, but the magic that once electrified their earlier work feels distant—perhaps even gone.
Year of the Snake gets: 📷📷📷📷📷/10.
Arcade Fire – Year of the Snake [Music Video]
