By YH Etheart
Arcade Fire
The Suburbs
Merge Records
Everyone’s favorite Canadian orchestral indie rock collective, the Arcade Fire, have just delivered their third album, The Suburbs. To their credit, the band has chosen to push against the simple, yet wildly effective blueprint of 2004’s Funeral and its gratifying, more adventurous 2007 follow-up, Neon Bible. The new album was reportedly inspired by band members Will and Win Butler’s upbringing in the suburbs of Houston, TX, and they do deliver what is almost a rock opera on the subject, a concept album whose lyrics (like in the jaunty title track) relive the deep, immediate passions and reflexive boredom found in such an upbringing.
They come out of the gate pretty admirably. “Ready to Start” follows the formula of previous Arcade Fire anthems, but with more of a late-‘80s feel. “Modern Man” is an understated surprise—gentle and almost Big Star-like. The dark epic “Rococo,” with its tale of “the modern kids” who “use great big words that they don’t understand” works quite well, and “Empty Room” out-propels Neon Bible’s “The Well And The Lighthouse” and even Funeral’s “Neighborhood #3” (well, almost). While “City with No Children” and “Half Light I” tread water in an all-too familiar way, the synth-heavy “Half Light II” and the jangly “Suburban War” act as a sturdy bridge to the album’s second half.
In that second half, only “Month of May” is a real misstep, perhaps meant to emulate the type of rock-n-roller one might tool around to during a misspent youth, but ultimately a waste of an album slot. “Wasted Hours” evokes Neil Young; “We Used To Wait” uses intriguing, yet subtle electronic accents; and “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” is huge and triumphant electro-pop.
The Suburbs is pretty commendable, experiments with new textures, rewards multiple listens, and (very) gently challenges what’s come before. It’s nowhere near the lean juggernaut that Funeral was, and it falls short of being a true step forward for the band, but it makes me more than confident in what’s coming next.
Release Date August 2, 2010
1. The Suburbs
2. Ready to Start
3. Modern Man
4. Rococo
5. Empty Room
6. City With No Children
7. Half Light I
8. Half Light II (No Celebration)
9. Suburban War
10. Month of May
11. Wasted Hours
12. Deep Blue
13. We Used to Wait
14. Sprawl I (Flatland)
15. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
16. The Suburbs (continued)
