Arcade Fire are a band used to receiving widespread praise for their albums and when they released new album Reflektor earlier this week it was more of the same as the critics came out in force to herald the return of the Canadian alt-rockers. But behind this hit parade is an unfamiliar presence; negative, or at least lukewarm, critical reception. But what is it that makes the group's fourth record such a divisive one?

Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire; still feeling blue, but now with bongos 

The band have clearly been influenced by co-producers Markus Dravs and former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, who have brought with them a touch of white boy funk that is far removed from the melancholy of 'Une Année Sans Lumiere' or 'My Body Is A Cage,' but the pieces from the past albums are still all there, in tact and functioning. There is a new edge to the band on Reflektors, as they widen their surroundings and bring in a wealth of outside influences to create a double album comparable (to some) to "U2's Achtung Baby and Radiohead's Kid A."

This is the opinion of Rolling Stone writer David Fricke, who considers it to be a transitional album ushering the band into a new age of creativity and into new genres. He states, Reflektor is closer to turning-point classics such as U2's Achtung Baby