New Arcade Fire "Abraham's Daughter"

The Arcade Fire have released their new track from the soundtrack to the upcoming young adult blockbuster The Hunger Games. With a steady, foreboding drum beat and chanted etherial vocals from Régine, the song sounds unlike anything the Arcade Fire's back catalogue. Frontman Win Butler describes the song and creative process:

“We were interested in making music that would be more integral in the movie, just as a mental exercise. And there’s an anthem that runs throughout the books, the national anthem of the fascist Capitol. So as a thought experiment, we tried to write what that might sound like. It’s like the Capitol’s idea of itself, basically. It’s not a pop song or anything– more of an anthem that could be playing at a big sporting event like the Games. So we did a structure for that, and then James Newton Howard made a movie-score version of it that happens in several places in the film.”

Another new track, the instrumental "Horns of Plenty" will also appear on the upcoming soundtrack. "Abraham's Daughter" is available for streaming here and here.

The release of these two songs come at an interesting time for the band. After The Suburbs won the 2011 Juno and Grammy for Album of the Year, the Arcade Fire have never had more mainstream exposure. One can only assume that based on the huge popularity of the books and anticipation for the films, The Hunger Games will be a huge hit. But where does this leave the Arcade Fire? With two songs not indicative of their work to this point, will the Arcade Fire's contributions encourage viewers to explore their work, much as Radiohead's soundtrack work has? Butler specifically mentions Radiohead's "Exit Music (For a Film)" from Romeo + Juliet as an influence on these two songs, making this seem like a real possibility.