Net Music Review

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire have always been a bit of a mystery to me, until their third album, The Suburbs. Yes I know they are all fine musicians and yes, both Funeral and Neon Bible were both good albums, but why did they appear to be every hipster indie kid's favourite band? How could they inspire such reverence from everyone else? While not all of these questions have been answered, after listening to The Suburbs I can see how they could be held in such high esteem.

The Suburbs is notably different in tone from it's predecessors, where they were dark and soul searching this is an altogether lighter offering; that's not to say it's a barrel of laughs though. Band leader Win Bulter and brother Will draw on their experiences growing up in the suburbs of Houston to present an album that is not only nostalgic but strangely optimistic too with the carefree feel of a long bank holiday in May. The plodding, hypnotic piano of opener "The Suburbs" almost instantly whisks you away to somewhere long forgotten setting the tone for what is to come while "Ready To Start" has a slightly rockier feel but feels as if were made to follow on. In fact, the whole album has a crafted feel to it, where previous efforts have been built around several stand out tracks, The Suburbs feels as if it were handcrafted, each track designed to follow on from the last, whilst blending into what is to come.

"Rococo" is probably the closest to anything from Neon Bible with its slightly gothic feel, similar to "Intervention". One of the traits of The Suburbs is the sheer scale of it, coming in at 16 songs and approximately an hour long it can feel a little daunting sitting down to listen to it, but this shouldn't put you off as repeated listens reveal the hidden complexity in the song writing. Shorter songs such as "Empty Room" and "City With No Children" show themselves to be more than merely filler or interludes but intricate examples of the bands commitment to quality control. Arcade Fire even find time to surprise on tracks such as "Half Light II (The Celebration)" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" by going electronic. The former is clearly influenced by 80's synth pioneers Depeche Mode while the latter is a beautiful synth laden track that has echoes of Blondie's "Heart Of Glass", listen for yourself if you don't believe me! Don't think for a minute though that this signals a change in musical style, this is quite recognisably Arcade Fire doing what Arcade Fire do, "Suburban War" is a melancholy downbeat song with hints of Radiohead before they decided to deconstruct their sound. For indie fans there really is something here for everyone, "Month Of May" proves this by coming over all punky providing some well needed urgency in the middle section of the album.

Following up an album such as Neon Bible that won so many plaudits can be daunting, here however Arcade Fire have cast any such fears aside to make a well rounded, crafted, reminiscence of what it is to grow up in the 'burbs'. It has that hazy, summery feel of distant memories gently stirring from a long slumber and will make you yearn for times that were oh so simpler; a joy to behold.