The video depicts the members of Arcade Fire wearing shiny golden suits performing in a plainly decorated room as a strobe light flashes intermittently.

[2][3] Stephen Thompson of NPR interpreted the video as complementing the band's narrative on the album: "unrealistic expectations, pressure to conform, and the exhausting din of modern life.

Elias Leight of Rolling Stone likened the song to The Human League's "Seconds" and The Knife's "Heartbeats" and wrote: "Underneath the curtain of synthesizers, ringing power chords, pulverizing drums and cheerfully shouted backing vocals, lead singer Win Butler tells a grim tale about cultural pressures that lead men and women to hate themselves.

"[9] Jeremy Gordon of Spin described the synthesizer that sets the song's tempo as "the sonic realization of the band's decade-old dream about the dark mystery of the city.

"[10] Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes said that while the song "will stop someone from doing something rash ... Arcade Fire are pompous about knowing that, throwing their arms wide around the problem and presenting their own music as the solution.