The Suburbs
The long awaited day is finally here and after a three year layoff Montreal’s favorite native children, The Arcade Fire, have returned to reclaim their spot at the top of the Indie food chain. Since the release of their first album, 2004′s Funeral, The Arcade Fire have played an instrumental role in spreading indie rock to a larger audience. Over the last few years, however, the genre seems to have stagnated, lacking a clear voice or direction, and certainly lacking many groundbreaking releases. Well today finally marks the end of the drought as the Arcade Fire bring us The Suburbs, one of the best albums of 2010 thus far.
The Suburbs‘ beautifully crafted melodies are not the product of hours of digital alteration in a studio, but rather come from a group of immensely talented musicians who truly stand out in an age dominated by synthesizers, drum machines and autotune. The Arcade Fire has always been and remains very organic, very heartfelt music devoid of any trace of pretentiousness or insincerity. There is no way to fake the emotion that these artists have for their music, and this fact is instrumental to their crossover popularity.
Win Butler’s soulful and often somber voice has a way of cutting through the music and delivering a poignant message in a way that few other singers can do. In fact, no other indie band, (besides perhaps Modest Mouse in their prime) has reached a level of popularity comparable to The Arcade Fire. If you don’t believe this, then consider the fact that that their first two shows to promote the new album will be held in Madison Square Garden for massive audiences, and furthermore, their Thursday show will be simultaneously broadcast live on Youtube to millions of people watching at home. This event is sure to be huge, I know I’ll be watching. (Side note: both MSG shows will be directed by Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam.)
Musically, The Suburbs moves through several moods and conveys a broad range of emotions as The Arcade Fire venture deeper and deeper into the suburban landscape. Songs like ‘Modern Man’ impart biting criticisms regarding the minimality of suburban life, while other tracks like ‘Sprawl II’ offer an almost uplifting anthem to life in a landscape where “shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains.” From its immensely catchy title track to the somber and haunting sonata of ‘Sprawl I’ and, finally, to the sweeping orchestral arrangements of ‘Half Light I’, this album glides effortlessly between each movement to paint a wide and detailed picture of modern suburban life in all its spectacle and all its folly. To sum up, the three year wait was well worth it, so here are a few of my favorite tracks from the new album. Be sure to go out and grab The Suburbs in its entirety though, you won’t get the full effect of the album until you do.
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YES
I love this album: it’s very down to earth and warming, although they do use some old rickety synths here and there so to say that it’s away from that isn’t entirely true! Still, Arcade Fire are brilliant and I can’t understand why some people have really taken a dislike to them over the years.
Great blog