An early review of Arcade Fire's forthcoming album Reflektor has heaped heavy praise on the ecclectic sound of the record and of the 'Rick Rubin-esque' contributions of co-producer James Murphy.

US website Spin are one of the first to hear the LP in full, and today posted a list of observations about the record online. 

Discussing the evolution of their sound, Spin wrote: "That majestic, cinematic, anthemic sound is still there but it's subtler, and the group's confidence, swing, and swagger have grown by leaps and bounds. They've also finally learned how to put some air in their music: The album veers masterfully from spare to sprawling (and vice versa) in an instant."

Praising the new dance-y direction, Spin also credit the work of co-producer James Murphy: "Obviously he’s a celebrated DJ and a remixer and of course LCD Soundsystem’s frontal lobe. But he’s also now a Rick Rubin-style avatar who highlights and extracts the best from both the songs and the musicians, with a staggering attention to detail and sense of dynamics and especially rhythm."

Spin go on to say that 'the lyrics are hard to understand' and heavily reference Greek mythology, their orchestral strings are 'much less prominent' than before and it's clearly a full record of 'two different sides'. 

They also say that the record 'doesn't turn them into U2', adding: "Reflektor is like Mad Men or a Mercedes or Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom: whether or not you like it, the quality of the art and the scale of the accomplishment are undeniable."

See the band perform new tracks in Here Comes The Night Time below

Earlier this week, Arcade Fire premiered a short film directed by Roman Coppola, featuring new songs 'Here Comes The Night Time,' 'We Exist,' and 'Normal Person' from Reflektor. The six-song show was filmed after the band appeared on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live with Tina Fey, and also features guest appearances from Bono, Michael Cera and Ben Stiller.

Part concert, part movie, Here Comes The Night Time also involves several scripted sketches - such as a rather amusing conversation between waiters,  comparing the band to Mumford & Sons - and another with Zach Galianakis in space telling the band: "I saw one of your first shows and there were more people on stage than in the audience - who needs three drummers?"

Reflektor will be released on 29 October, 2013.

Below: Arcade Fire live in Manchester