Produced by Nigel Godrich and band members Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, it was recorded in studios in New Orleans; in El Paso, Texas; and on Mount Desert Island in Maine.

Preceded by the singles "The Lightning I, II" and "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)", We received generally positive reviews from music critics and achieved moderate commercial success.

[3] In April 2020, Win Butler posted a letter to his Instagram account indicating that work on a new Arcade Fire album had commenced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the writing continued during the lockdown measures.

[11] On April 14, 2021, Arcade Fire released a 45-minute instrumental piece entitled "Memories of the Age of Anxiety" on the meditation app Headspace.

The postcards included the note "WE missed you" above musical notations on the front, and an image of an eye with the word "Unsubscribe" written below it on the back.

Those same images began to appear in signage around London and on the band's social media pages, indicating the album's impending release.

The cover artwork featuring a photograph by French artist JR with airbrush color tinting by Terry Pastor was also revealed.