After months of teasing the release of its anticipated new album, Montreal band Arcade Fire has released Reflektor five days early — streaming it from the group's website and via YouTube — to combat an online leak.
The Grammy-winning rock troupe directed fans to its website arcadefire.com on Thursday evening after a low-quality version of the album turned up on the internet. The album had been set for release on Tuesday.
On the band's site and on YouTube, Reflektor's 14 songs play as a backdrop to a Brazilian film titled Black Orpheus.
Montreal-based Arcade Fire won the top Grammy, album of the year, for its last release, 2011's The Suburbs. The rock troupe released its latest album, Reflektor, five days earlier than its Tuesday target. The leak appeared alongside social media claims that a few music stores began selling the album early, reportedly Rollercoaster Records in Kilkenny, Ireland, and a Czech Republic retailer.
The rock collective has engaged in a lengthy promotional campaign for the new album, including playing shows under fake names, hiring graffiti artists to blitz neighbourhoods with the album's logo (in chalk) and high-profile performances on Saturday Night Live and The Colbert Report.
On Monday evening, Arcade Fire will perform a special concert from Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.
CBC Music and NPR will livestream the hour-long performance of songs from Reflektor, beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
