Arcade Fire's Win Butler gives "Reflektor" a Mexican twist

One of the dirty little secrets of the music industry is that no artist (other than perhaps the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne) enjoys doing press to promote their records. That explains while you’ll rarely see multi-platinum club members like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, or Bono anywhere other than the pages of Rolling Stone.

Based on past visits to Vancouver, Arcade Fire main man Win Butler doesn’t seem overly enthusiastic about promoting himself or his band. Whenever the the group’s label has offered up someone for an interview to pimp a new record, it’s usually the triangle player or the dude whose job description consists of "flag waver".

Butler deserves some amount credit then for not only showing up in person in London on Tuesday to celebrate the release of Arcade Fire’s ambitious and much-anticipated fourth album, Reflektor, but for also for doing his part to rev up the hype-machine and get folks talking. The singer was there in the flesh before a gig at the Roundhouse to greet fans arriving for the show.

Well, actually, in the flesh isn’t entirely accurate, as Butler was wearing a mask that suggested he can’t quite let go of the fact that Halloween and Day of the Dead are officially in the rear-view mirror for 2013. The weirdness didn’t stop there, as the singer performed the song "Reflektor" not with Arcade Fire, but backed by a mariachi band.

What’s weird about that, you might rightly ask? Well, where in the hell does one find a mariachi band in London, England, which, as far as we know, doesn’t even have a Taco Time?