Watch Arcade Fire Play Four New Songs As ‘The Reflektors’ At “Secret” Gig

Considering the ruse pulled on audience members the night before, we imagine it was a somewhat skeptical crowd who filed into 299 Meserole St in Brooklyn last night for the second of two very special “secret” performances from Arcade Fire.

Operating under the name The Reflektors, the band seemed unable to keep their new material under wraps, revealing 4 never-before-heard tracks. The set list included the shiny new tracks Flashbulb Eyes, Joan Of Arc, Supersymmetry and It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus) all set to be featuring on the group’s heavily discussed new album Reflektor.

The night previously, fans waited patiently only to be informed by James Murphy, making a surprise appearance on stage, that “There’s been a little snafu. We can only get three members right now. But it’s going to be OK. I’d like to introduce the Reflektors!” before handing things over to three musicians sporting the those creepy papier-mâché masks all apparently jamming over reggae. Nek minnit, a curtain dropped to reveal the real fake band, in all their glory.

Frontman Win Butler later apologised to the audience, informing them after the show that they were going to stick around and party with the crowd.

There seems to be an ongoing theme of grass-roots promo activity for the release, with guerilla marketing tactics and returning to small venues to perform – even the name

‘The Reflektors’ suggest a retrospective spin.

Organisers at the boutique Brooklyn venue were blown away with the band’s request to perform there. Curator Peter Hopkins commented, “Live Nation told me they could have absolutely done this at Madison Square Garden, but they were looking for something that more reflected the demographic of the people who like the Arcade Fire.”

These new songs take the number of songs from Reflektor to hit the internet to a total of eight (and a bit) out of a possible 13. Here Comes The Night Time, We Exist, and Normal Person were premiered via a cameo-filled performance video directed by Roman Coppola. Lead single Reflektor officially dropped last month, of course. Another new track, Afterlife, has also been previewed with a teaser video.

Reflektor, a double album, drops in Australia Friday 1st November. Check out the brand new songs below.

Watch: Arcade Fire – Flashbulb Eyes

Watch: Arcade Fire – Joan Of Arc

Watch: Arcade Fire – Supersymmetry

Watch: Arcade Fire – It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus)

(Via Stereogum)

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