Arcade Fire: 'We Used To Wait'

It's amazing to think that Arcade Fire have been around for seven years now - and making critics go all wobbly at the knees for pretty much the same period. Maybe it's the three-year gaps between records that helps keeps things fresh, but whatever the reason, the time certainly feels right for the band's return. Taking 'We Used To Wait' in isolation could be tricky though, because despite the brilliance of the cuts from their in-retrospect-perhaps-slightly-over-lauded debut Funeral, the bloggers' favourites clearly established themselves as an albums act with 2007 follow-up Neon Bible.

But take in isolation we must, with this track standing alone as the final teaser for third LP The Suburbs, due next month. The good news is that 'We Used To Wait' neatly combines the earworm melodies of their first album and the warmer, grandiose glow of their second. They're still way too overwrought ("Hope that something pure can last"), too clever-clever ("Now we're screaming sing the chorus again") and frankly faintly ridiculous ("All those wasted lives in the wilderness downtown"), but those are all things that are as lovable as they are annoying, especially when they're mixed up with some insistent plonky piano, staccato guitar twangs and layer-on-layer and wave-on-wave of Arcade Fire gloss.