Having been previewed live at recent surprise performances ranging from New York’s Bowery Ballroom to Coachella’s Mojave Tent, today sees the official release of “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid),” the second advance offering from Arcade Fire’s “excellent sixth album” (The New Yorker) WE to be released May 6 via Columbia Records.
Like first single “The Lightning I, II”—hailed upon its release by The New York Times as “burning… with an earnest, fiery hope”—“Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” also appears on the second side of WE — the half of the record that channels and revels in the power and joy of human (re)connection. The song’s lyrics find Arcade Fire’s Win Butler offering heartfelt advice and concern for coming generations in the face of myriad challenges of an uncertain future. The result is a buoyant chorus of optimism celebrating unconditional love as a seemingly unachievable ideal that occurs naturally and effortlessly with one’s children.
“There’s nothing saccharine about unconditional love in a world that is coming apart at the seams,” said Win Butler. “WE need each other, in all of our imperfection. ‘Lookout Kid’ is a reminder, a lullaby for the end times, sung to my son, but for everyone… Trust your heart, trust your mind, trust your body, trust your soul. Shit is going to get worse before it gets better, but it always gets better, and no one’s perfect. Let me say it again. No one’s perfect.”
Listen to ‘Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)’ – BELOW:
WE is produced by Nigel Godrich, Win & Régine.
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